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THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 



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WITH A PEHHLK FROM HIS SLING, CYRIL STRIKES THE HELMET FROM 
THE ROMAN SOLDIER’S HEAD. (SEE PAGE 21.) 


THE 

SWORDMAKER’S SON 

A STORY OF THE YEAR 30 A. D. 


BY 




WILLIAM or STODDARD 

AUTHOR OF ‘‘THE WHITE CAVE/’ ETC. 





■»' 

MIG 


NEW YORK 
THE CENTURY CO. 


1896 


Copyright, 1895, 1896, 

"by The Century Co. 


The DeVinne Press. 


CONTENTS 


I 

The Fugitives from Samaria 

PAGE 

1 

II 

The Rabbi’s Lecture 

12 

III 

Cyril and the Roman Soldier 

20 

IV 

Bringing Home the Bride 

26 

V 

Wine for the Feast 

36 

VI 

Capernaum 

43 

VII 

Jerusalem 

51 

VIII 

The Scourge of Small Cords 

60 

IX 

Herod’s Amphitheater 

68 

X 

In Capernaum 

76 

XI 

The Cave of Adullam 

85 

XII 

The Healing of the Leper 

93 

XIII 

The Sick of the Palsy 

100 

XIV 

John in ‘‘the Black Castle” 

106 

XV 

The Son of the Widow of Nain 

113 

XVI 

Ezra’s Withered Hand 

121 

XVII 

The Great Draught of Fishes 

129 

XVIII 

The Storm that was Calmed 

135 

XIX 

The Rabbi’s Curse 

142 


vii 



viii 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XX 

The Tower in Siloam 

153 

XXI 

Cyril and the Outlaws 

163 

XXII 

The Massacre op the Galileans 

172 

XXIII 

The Sword for the Kino 

178 

XXIV 

Feeding the Multitude 

186 

XXV 

Cyril’s Errand 

193 

XXVI 

Ezra and the Centurion 

202 

XXVII 

Cyril at Rome 

211 

XXVIII 

A Foot-race for Freedom 

218 

XXIX 

The Shipwreck 

228 

XXX 

The Colt, the Foal of an Ass 

235 

XXXI 

Before the Last Passover 

241 

XXXII 

Gethsemane 

248 

XXXIII 

The Cross and the Crown 

258 

XXXIV 

After the Resurrection 

271 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

With a Pebble from his Sling, Cyril Strikes the 

Helmet from the Roman Soldier’s Head . . Frontispiece 
Cyril Shook his Clenched Fist at the Romans 7 

Rabbi Ben Nassur’s Discourse to his Son Raphael 17 
Cyril,’ said Lois, Pointing, ‘Look! He is Come!’” 33 
“ ‘ Lois, My Pitcher is Full of Wine ! ’ ” 39 

Cyril and Lois on Their Way to Capernaum 47 

‘“Jerusalem is Glorious!’” ’ 57 

The Money-changers and Dealers Expelled from 

THE Temple 63 

“There were Contests between Swordsmen” 69 

Rabbi Ben Nassur and the Throng before the 

House of Simon Peter 79 

In the Cave of Adullam 89 

“The Poor Outcast was Evidently Making a Des- 
perate Effort” 95 

“They were Permitted to Stand at the Grated 

Door of the Dungeon” 109 

“Lois Returned to Her Needle-work” 117 

“‘It is Restored Whole as the Other,’ Gasped 
Cyril ” 125 

lx 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 


Cyril Sat by the Boat for a while ” 139 

The Rabbi Denounces Cyril. ^“Get Thee Hence! 

Thou art no Longer of my Kinsmen!”’ 149 

“The Tower came Crashing, Thundering Down!” 157 

“^Who Art ThouT” 165 

“^What a Splendid Sword!’ exclaimed Cyril” 181 

Cyril,’ said a Low, Sweet Voice near Him, ‘Look 
Up. Father and I are Here’” 199 

“ Ezra at Once Held Out his Strong and Perfect 

Hand ” 207 

“‘Win Thou, Apollos!’” 225 

“The Throng was Led by Judas” 249 

“ They were Drawing Lots for the Seamless 
Vesture” . 267 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 






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THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


CHAPTER I 

THE FUGITIVES FROM SAMARIA 
SCORE of mounted spearmen were galloping sharply 



Jl\. along the broad, well-kept highway that led past 
the foot-hills of Mount Gilboa toward the southern gate 
of the ancient city of Jezreel. The pattern of them bur- 
nished helmets, and their arms and armor, indicated that 
they were from the light cavalry of some Roman legion. 
There was but little conversation among them, but as they 
rode on enough was said by both officers and men to tell 
that they were pursuing fugitives, whom they expected 
soon to overtake. 

We shall cut them down before they reach Jezreel,” 
came from a harsh voice in the ranks. 

^^Slay them not,” responded the foremost horseman. 
‘‘ The old smith must be crucified, and the boy is wanted 
for the circus.” 

Less than a mile eastward from the highway and the 
horsemen, under thick tree-shelter on the brow of a hill. 


2 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


stood two persons who eagerly watched the passage of 
the cavalry, and seemed to know their errand. One was 
a well-grown, handsome youth, with dark, closely curling 
hair, clear olive complexion, and eyes that were really 
glittering in their brilliancy. He may have been some- 
what over sixteen years of age; but that is no longer 
boyhood among the nations of the East. The simple dress 
that he wore — a sleeveless tunic of thin woolen cloth — 
hardly concealed the lithe, sinewy form that seemed to 
promise for him the suppleness of a young panther. 
Over his left arm was thrown a loosely fitted linen gar- 
ment — a kind of robe, to be put on when needed; and 
on his feet were sandals. A leather belt around his waist 
sustained a wallet. 

The other person was a powerfully built, middle-aged 
man, with a deeply lined, intelligent face. There was a 
strong resemblance between the two, but there was one 
marked difference. The features of the man were of the 
highest type of the old Hebrew race, and his nose was 
aquiline, while that of the boy was straight, and his lips 
were thinner, as if in him the Hebrew and Greek races 
had been merged into one. 

The summer air was wonderfully pure and clear. The 
two watchers could almost discern the trappings of the 
cavalry horses, while the Carmel mountain ridges, far 
across the plain of Esdraelon before them, rose above the 
horizon with a distinctness impossible in any moister at- 
mosphere. Behind them, eastward, were the forests and 


THE FUGITIVES FROM SAMARIA 


3 


crags of Gilboa, and the elder of the fugitives turned and 
anxiously scanned its broken outline. 

They seemed to have escaped for a time, for the Roman 
spearmen were galloping away steadily j and the young 
man shook his clenched fist at them as he exclaimed : 

^^Ye wolves! We could have dared the Samaritan 
mob, if it had not been for you.” 

But, Cyril, hearken,” responded his father, gloomily • 
^Hhere were too many, even of the mob. There is but 
one hope for us now. We are followed closely, and we 
could not long be concealed here. I must fiee into the 
wilderness until this storm is over. It will pass. Go thou 
to our kinsmen in Galilee. Go first to the house of Isaac 
Ben Nassur, and see thy sister; but stay not long in 
Cana. If thou art not safe in Galilee, go on and join one 
of the bands in the fastnesses of Lebanon, or find thy 
way to Caesarea.” 

^^Nay, father,” exclaimed Cyril. ^‘Lois is safe there in 
Cana. It is better I should go with thee. Thou wilt need 
me.” 

His brave young face was fiushed with intense earnest- 
ness a she spoke. His father had been watching it with 
eyes that were full of pride in his son, but he interrupted 
him, almost sternly. 

Go, as I bid thee,” he said. So shalt thou escape the 
galleys or the sword. Whither I go, I know not ; but 
what becomes of me is of less importance, now that my 
right hand has failed me.” 


4 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


He stretched out his hand, and Cyril shuddered, al- 
though he must often have seen it. Sinewy, remarkably 
muscular as was the bare, bronzed arm, all below its 
wrist was shriveled, distorted, withered, perhaps by rheu- 
matism or some kindred affliction. The father’s face grew 
dark and bitter as he added : “ Who, now, would believe 
that this hand had led the men of Galilee when they slew 
the soldiers of Herod the Great in the streets of Jerusalem ? 
We were beaten? Ay, they outnumbered us; but how 
they did go down ! ’T was a great day — that old Pass- 
over fight. I have smitten the wolves of Rome, too, in 
more places than they know of ! Many and many a good 
blade have I shaped and tempered — many a shield and 
helmet; but the war- work and the anvil-work of Ezra 
the Swordmaker are done, and he goes forth a crippled 
beggar — yea, even a hunted wild beast ! Go, my son ; 
go thou to Isaac Ben Nassur.” 

I will go,” replied Cyril, with tears on his face and a 
tremor in his voice ; but when — when shall I see thee 
again ? ” ^ 

The Lord, the God of our fathers, he only knoweth,” 
said Ezra. “There have been terrible times for Israel, 
and there are bloodier days to come. I am glad thy 
mother is at rest. Only thou and Lois remain. Our kin- 
dred are fewer than they were. Something tells me that 
the day of a great vengeance is near at hand. So all the 
prophets tell us. O my son, be thou ready for the coming 
of the promised King ! ” 


THE FUGITIVES FROM SAMARIA 


5 


The King ! ^ Cyril exclaimed. “ Why does he not 
come now ? Why is it that our people are left without a 
leader, to he slaughtered like sheep ? ” 

Who shall know the counsel of the Most High ? ” rev- 
erently responded Ezra. But the Messiah, the Prince 
of the house of David, the Captain of the host of Israel, 
he will surely come ! 

Something of their family history presented itself in 
their after-talk. Long years ago, it appeared, a Greek 
proselyte to the Jewish faith, a woman of high character 
and great beauty, named Lois, had met with Ezra the 
Swordmaker at a Passover week at Jerusalem, and had 
not long afterward become his wife. She had been as 
zealous a believer as if she had been born a daughter of 
Abraham. 

They talked of her, and of the young Lois at Cana, and 
of the oppressions of their people, and of the seeming 
hopelessness of any present help j but at last Ezra turned 
and waved his withered right hand westward. 

On that plain of Esdraelon,” he said, since the world 
was made more men have fallen by the sword than upon 
any other piece of ground. In the day of the coming 
King, in the year of his redeemed, there shall be fought 
there the greatest of aU battles, on the field of blood in 
the valley before Jezreel.^’ 

He seemed truly to grow in stature. His face fiushed, 
and his voice rang out like a trumpet. All the fierce en- 
thusiasm of the brave old Hebrew, however, was repro- 


6 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


duced in the face and attitude of his son. Cyril looked 
toward Esdraelon and Carmel with eyes that blazed, and 
cheeks that were white instead of red. 

“ The great battle ! ” he exclaimed. Dost thou think 
I may be there ? 

“ God grant it ! responded the swordmaker, with great 
solemnity. have taught thee my trade; thou hast 
also learned every feat that is to be performed with the 
sword and spear. I have taught thee to box, and to 
wrestle, and to swim. Thou art as fleet of foot as Asahel 
— as fleet as a wild roe. Thou art perfect, for thy age, 
with the bow and with the sling. I have hoped for thee 
that thou mayest be a captain. Therefore, as thou goest, 
learn all there is to know about war. Learn from the 
Romans ; study their camps and forts, and the marching 
of their cohorts. What we need is their drill and their 
discipline. Go, now. If I am slain, I am slain. Live 
thou, and be strong; and pray that in the day that is 
coming thou mayest indeed fight at the right hand of the 
anointed King of Israel.” 

For one short moment he held Cyril tightly in his arms, 
and then they parted. The face of the old warrior-ar- 
morer grew stern, perhaps despairing, but he turned and 
silently strode away toward the rugged declivities of the 
Gilboa Mountains. 

Cyril stood, motionless, looking after his father until 
the rocks and trees hid him from view. He turned again 
toward the plain, but it was no time for thinking of the 



CYRIL SHOOK HIS CLENCHED FIST AT THE ROMANS. 







I 





THE FUGITIVES FROM SAMARIA 


9 


mighty hosts which had met there or were yet to meet. 
The spot he stood on was no hiding-place, and the hoy, 
too, must flee for his liberty or his life. 

The galloping spearmen had long since disappeared, 
and now Cyril’s eyes fell upon something that lay on the 
ground at his feet. He stooped and picked it up — a little 
bag that answered with a chink to the shake he gave it. 
He had known that it was there, but acted as if he had 
been unconscious of it until now. He untied it and poured 
out the contents into his hand. 

Seven shekels and twenty denarii,” he mused. I am 
afraid he gave me all he had. He can get more, if he can 
reach his friends at the cave in the wilderness of Judea. 
I want to go there some day. I wish I could be with him 
now, and not in Galilee. I will not spend one denarius 
until I am compelled to.” 

He put the money back into the bag and hid it under 
his tunic. It was not a large sum, but it was quite a pro- 
vision, in that time and place, for a young fellow like 
him. The shekel, nominally worth sixty-two and a half 
cents of our money, was a Hebrew coin, and it might have 
been called the dollar of Palestine but that it would buy 
so much more than would a dollar of the present day. 
The denarius was a Roman coin worth sixteen cents, and 
was a fair day’s wages for a laboring-man. 

Cyril’s bag, therefore, contained his living for three 
months, if he could prevent it from being violently taken 
away by one kind of robber or another. There were 


10 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


many, of many kinds, for such as he, and he was mind- 
ful of them while he so carefully concealed the bag. 
During the years that he could remember, thousands 
of Jewish youths had been sold into slavery, and thou- 
sands of Jewish patriots, such as Ezra, had been slain 
with the sword or crucified beside the highways. He 
had evidently been, himself, an eye-witness of terrible 
scenes, and his eyes were hashing angrily as he recalled 
them. 

Oh, that the King of Israel would come ! ” he ex- 
claimed aloud. He will rule at Jerusalem and in Sama- 
ria ! He will conquer the Romans ! He will subdue the 
world ! I will go to Galilee, now, but I hope to be with 
him on that day, — the day of the great battle in the val- 
ley before Jezreel ! ’’ 

He set off at once down the hillside, toward the very 
highway along which the cavalry had ridden. It led to- 
ward Jezreel, but it also led toward the boundary-line 
between the district of Samaria, belonging to the region 
under Pontius Pilate, the representative of the Roman 
emperor Tiberius, and the district of Galilee, belonging 
to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who was also 
a subject of the Roman emperor. If Cyi’il were once 
across that line, the perils of such an insignificant fugi- 
tive from Samaria would be very much diminished, for 
there were jealousies between Herod and Pilate, and the 
military forces of one of them did not trespass upon the 
territory of the other. No doubt’ there would be guards 
along the frontier as well as patrols on the great military 


THE FUGITIVES FEOM SAMARIA 


11 


road, and Cyril may have been thinking of such obstacles 
when he said: 

I can get through in spite of them — and I will die 
rather than be taken prisoner 

As for Ezra the Swordmaker, he walked very rapidly 
for some time after parting from his son. More and more 
wild and rugged grew the scenery around him. He clam- 
bered out, at last, upon a bare, sunlit knob of granite, 
above a narrow valley in the middle of which was a 
cluster of rude dwellings. 

^^No,” he said, looking thoughtfully down upon themj 
I must not sleep under a roof to-night. Neither will my 
boy. The villagers are hospitable enough, but who 
knows what enemies I might find among them ? ” 

He looked up, for a moment, but the cloudlessly blue 
sky sent back no answer. He had murmured an earnest 
prayer in the old Hebrew tongue, and when he ceased he 
turned his face toward the north, the direction in which 
Cyril had gone. 

My brave young lion ! ” he exclaimed. It must be 
his hand, not mine, that will henceforth ply the hammer 
and draw the sword. I am like Israel and Judah, for my 
right hand is withered and I can strike no more.” 

His deep, mournful voice rang out unheard through 
the solitude, and then he was silent. There was uncom- 
mon vigor in the firm, elastic step with which he now 
pushed forward, across broken ledges and through the 
tangled forest-growths, toward a mass of gloomy-looking 
cliffs which rose to the northward of the valley. 


CHAPTER II 


THE RABBI’S LECTURE 

T he village street, in which the maiden stood by the 
well, wore a half-sleepy look, for little breeze was 
stirring and the day was warm. Others were coming and 
going, but she did not seem to be speaking to any of her 
companions. It will be one of the largest wedding-par- 
ties they ’ve ever had in Cana,” she was thinking. “ The 
bride is very handsome, and is rich.” 

She had put down her tall, slender-necked water-pitcher 
upon the circle of masonry around the mouth of the well. 
She stood erect, and the merry expression which had 
twinkled for a moment in her brilliant dark eyes faded 
away. They suddenly grew thoughtful, and her lip quiv- 
ered as she exclaimed : 

When will they come, and why do I not hear from 
them ? They may have been killed ! ” 

Cana was a thriving village on the great highway 
through the hills west of the Sea of Galilee. From the 
main road a number of narrow, irregular streets wan- 
dered up and along a low hillside, and were bordered by 
houses that were built mostly of stone. The inhabitants 

12 


THE KABBPS LECTUEE 


13 


had need for thrift and industry, if it were only because 
of the tax-gatherers j for Herod Antipas was building 
palaces, fortresses, and cities. All the people paid taxes 
and bribes to him and to his builders. 

While the consequences were often painful enough, 
there were no signs of actual poverty in the vicinity of 
the well. It stood several paces in front of a dwelling, 
two stories in height, which seemed somewhat better than 
its neighbors. The porch along its lower story was 
thickly clad with vines, and from under these the girl 
had come to bring her jar to the well. A Jewish maiden 
of nearly fifteen was accounted a full-grown woman, and 
the slightness of her graceful figure did not interfere with 
an air of maturity which her present state of mind much 
increased. Her simple dress, that became her so weU, 
was of good materials. 

Ranged on either side of the weU were six large, cum- 
brous-looking water-pots of stoneware, partly filled, for 
the convenience of any person wishing to perform the 
foot or hand ablutions required by the exacting ceremo- 
nial law of the Jews. 

The vine-clad porch was a pleasant place. It was pro- 
vided with wooden benches; and on one of these sat a 
man who seemed to consider himself a person of impor- 
tance. Every movement, and even his attitude when sit- 
ting still, might be said to accord with a conviction that 
he. Rabbi Isaac Ben Nassur, was the wisest, the most 
learned man in Cana. 


14 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


He was very tall, as well as broad and heavy ; and his 
thick, gray beard came down to the voluminous sash that 
was folded around his waist. His eyebrows were black 
and projecting; his nose was prominent; his black eyes 
were piercing ; he was dressed, as became a rabbi, or any 
other highly respectable Jew, in a long linen tunic with 
sleeves, that was belted by the sash. Over this he wore a 
long, loosely flowing robe, called an “ abba,” also of linen. 
Around his shoulders, with the ends falling in front, was 
a broad white woolen scarf, with narrow bars of red and 
purple and blue, and with blue tassels at the corners of 
each of its two ends. This was the “ tallith,” and was 
worn as a reminder that the wearer must remember all 
the commandments of the Law and faithfully perform 
them. 

Every good Jew wore a tallith, larger or smaller, and 
some were costly ; but Rabbi Isaac was by no means a 
rich man, as even his well- worn sandals testified, and there- 
fore his tallith was only of fine wool, without ornament. 
On his head, instead of a turban, was a long linen ker- 
chief so folded that three of the corners fell down at the 
back and sides. A band kept the kerchief in place. 

In front of the rabbi stood a tall young man, listening 
with most reverent attention, having taken off his turban 
to receive his father^s admonitions. 

The thick vine-leaves which veiled the shady porch did 
not prevent the sonorous voice of the rabbi from carrying 
at least as far as the well. 


THE RABBrS LECTURE 


15 


The audience there consisted of more than one person. 
The women, of all ages, who came to the well with water- 
jars, were ready to rest and gossip a little before carrying 
them away on their shoulders or gracefully balanced 
upon their heads. 

Lois was disposed to ask, even eagerly, for other news 
than that of the village of Cana. She laughed when 
others did, but, as her gossiping neighbors came and 
went, shadow after shadow, as of disappointment, flitted 
across her face. Not one of them had any news to tell 
her of the absent ones for whom she longed. 

It was evident that the wedding of Eaphael, the near 
kinsman of Lois, and only son of the wise Rabbi Isaac, 
was considered an important event, and a welcome varia- 
tion in the somewhat humdrum course of the daily life 
of the village. The rabbi himself, so regarding it, dis- 
coursed eloquently upon the general subject of matri- 
mony, as well as upon the especial ceremony now at hand : 
and Raphael would surely be a model husband if he 
should succeed in living up to his father^s instructions. 
So said the laughing maids and matrons at the well. Al- 
most all of them expected to have some share in the wed- 
ding festivities. Some were friends or kindred of the 
bride^s family, and were to join the procession from her 
residence which would escort her and the bridegroom to 
the house of Ben Nassur. Others were to wait with Lois 
and the rabbfls family until they should be told that the 


16 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


bridegroom was coming. Then they would go out to 
meet him. 

The wedding was to take place in the evening of the 
following day, whereupon seven days of feasting were to 
follow, and for these great preparations had been made. 

Kindred and friends were expected to come from far 
and near on such an occasion, and were welcomed with 
liberal hospitality. 

No news is sometimes akin to good news, and the gos- 
sippers at the well had brought with them no alarming 
rumor of any kind. The shadows gradually flitted away 
from the face of Lois. She lifted her jar and put it upon 
her head. She was just disappearing through the porch 
into the house, when the deep tones of Ben Nassur seemed 
to send a thrill through her. His whole manner had 
suddenly changed, and he was now standing erect. 

“ So now, my son,” he said, see to it that all things are 
ready for the wedding. Speak not to any man, impru- 
dently, of this that I now tell thee. I go to the house of 
Nathaniel, to hear more j but a mounted messenger from 
Samaria, this morning, brought tidings of another tumult 
in that city. More of our brethren have fallen by the 
swords of their enemies, and there was none to help, for 
the centurion in command there hates our nation as he 
hath oft proved. Accursed may he be ! ” 

Bitter and wrathful were the face and voice of the 
rabbi, but the low-toned, flerce response of his son was 
not audible beyond the porch. Now, however, there were 



RABBI BEN NASSUK’S DISCOURSE TO IIIS SON RAPHAEL, 














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1 


THE RABBI’S LECTURE 


19 


tears in the eyes of Lois, and her cheeks were white with 
fear. 

And my father and Cyril are in Samaria ! ” she ex- 
claimed. “Oh, how I wish I could hear from them! 
What if they have been slain, or — or crucified! The 
Romans are merciless!’^ 


CHAPTER in 


CYRIL AND THE ROMAN SOLDIER 


YRIL was now well out upon the battle-plain of Es- 



\J draelon. Too many people were coming and going 
upon the highways. They were not soldiers, nor pursuing 
him, but the young fugitive preferred the broad stubble 
fields, from which the wheat had long since been reaped, 
and where now the tall growths of weeds concealed him 
very well. There were stone walls to climb and villages 
to go around, and the need for keeping under cover made 
the distances to be traveled longer. On he went, with a 
springing, elastic step, and he did not seem to feel at all 
the heat of the sun. It was his native climate and did 
not oppress him. 

The many orchards and vineyards to which he came 
were those of his friends, for he did not seem to mind 
the husbandmen at work in them. As he made his 
way between the long rows of a luxuriant vineyard, he 
thought ; 

It cannot be far now to the Kishon. Father says that 
there is always a Roman patrol up and down the bank, so 
that no one can cross, except under the eyes of the guards 


20 


CYRIL AND THE ROMAN SOLDIER 21 

at the bridges. I shall have to keep watch for the patrol. 
Once across the Kishon, and no man in heavy armor can 
overtake me.” 

Ezra had said of him, as fleet of foot as Asahel, the 
brother of Joab,” and Cyril had already shown himself a 
very rapid traveler j but he might meet mounted men. 
He went forward more cautiously, among the sheltering 
vines, and as he paused, listening, there came a sound 
that startled him. It was faint and far, but he exclaimed ; 

trumpet? That must be a signal. Those camel- 
drivers on the road saw me, and they must have reported 
me to the guard at the bridge. It is life or death, now ! ” 

In a minute more, he was peering out from the north- 
erly border of the vineyard. 

There is the Kishon ! ” he said. There is a patrol, 
too ; he is a legionary.” 

On the bank of the deep and swift river stood a fully 
armed soldier of that terrible power which overshadowed 
all the known world. To Cyril, that solitary legionary, 
stationed there to prevent such as he from crossing the 
Kishon, was an embodiment of all the enemies of Israel 
and Judah. The soldier stood erect, with his pilum, or 
broad-bladed spear, in his right hand. The vizor of his 
bronze helmet was open. He seemed to have understood 
the trumpet-note of warning, and was looking in all di- 
rections. His sword hung at the left side, ready for use, 
and on his left arm was a large round shield, now raised 
a little as he scanned the vineyards and the river-bank. 


2 


22 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


as if he wondered from which of them an enemy could 
come upon him at that time and place. After a few mo- 
ments, he turned and strode slowly, vigilantly, along the 
river-bank, while Cyril watched him. 

Good ! ” exclaimed Cyril, at last. “ He is far enough 
now. I can reach the river.^^ 

Out he darted and sprang away toward the Kishon. Of 
course he was at once seen by the quick-eyed patrol, and 
hoarse and loud came the Latin summons to halt. To dis- 
obey was sure and instant death, if Cyril should be over- 
taken, and he would be followed with relentless persistence 
if he should escape j but he bounded steadily forward while 
the soldier ran toward him. The soldier ran well, too, 
considering the weight of arms and armor he carried, for 
all Roman legionaries were trained athletes j but he could 
not get between the armorer’s son and the Kishon. 

Not broad, but very deep and swift, was the torrent 
that came rushing down from its sources among the 
Gilboa hills. A spring, a splash, and Cyril was swim- 
ming vigorously, though swept along down-stream by 
the strong current, while his left hand held his rolled- 
up robe high and dry above the water. 

Fierce, indeed, were the threatening commands of the 
legionary, but on the brink of the Kishon he was com 
pelled to halt and consider. No doubt he could swim, 
but not well with his heavy armor, his shield, and his 
sword. 

Lightly and rapidly swam Cyril, and in a few moments 


CYRIL AND THE ROMAN SOLDIER 


23 


more he was out on the northerly hank of the Kishon, 
sending hack a shout of triumph and defiance. But he 
meant to send back something more. His eyes were 
swiftly searching the ground around him, while he drew 
out something which had been hidden among the folds 
of his robe. 

It was a square of leather, as broad as his two hands, 
with corner-straps as long as his arm — a sling, such as 
David used of old. In that older day, all the tribe of 
Benjamin, to which the house of Ezra the Swordmaker 
belonged, were noted slingers j and here was their young 
representative, stooping to pick up smooth, rounded peb- 
bles, as David had picked up his pebbles from the brook 
in the valley of Elah. In an instant he was erect again, 
sling in hand, while yet the soldier stood considering 
the risk of swimming the Kishon. 

Whirl went the sling, with such a swiftness that it 
could hardly be seen, and away hissed the stone. No 
doubt the Roman had faced slingers, many a time ; but 
the distance was more than fifty yards, and he may not 
have expected so true an aim. Up went his shield, in- 
deed, a second too late, and well for him that he bowed 
his head, for Cyril^s first pebble struck him full upon the 
crest. It did not knock him down, only because, in the 
heat of the day, he had loosened the fastenings of his 
helmet, so that the blow of the stone struck it from his 
head, and sent it rolling away in the grass. 

No crossing of the Kishon now, with that slinger to 


24 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


practise upon his bare head all the way ! Expert warrior 
though ]^e was,^he had enough to do for the next two 
minutes in warding off with his shield the well-aimed 
pebbles which rapidly followed the first. 

Fast they came, and loudly they rang, one of them 
glancing from the shield to batter the brazen greave on 
his right leg. 

must not delay,” thought Cyril. Other Komans 
may be coming. One more ! ” 

Awhy flew the stone, but the blow on his leg had warned 
the soldier to kneel and guard now, and the missile made 
only a deep dent in the face of the shield. 

When the bearer of it looked out again from behind 
the target of buPs-hide and metal which had served him 
so well, the slinger had disappeared ; and there was nothing 
for the beaten Roman patrol to do but to go and report 
to his officer that one of the best slingers he had ever 
met had escaped from him. He could not have guessed 
how one Jewish boy^s heart was dancing with delight and 
pride as he pushed along northward, thinking, dreaming, 
and even exclaiming enthusiastically : 

“ Oh, that the King would come to lead us against the 
Romans ! ” 

No hunted wolf could have gone forward more cau- 
tiously than did Cyril; There were other streams to cross, 
and some of them were deep ; but there were no patrols in 
his way, and the waters were no impediment. They were 
more like cooling baths provided for a wayfarer who was 


CYRIL AND THE ROMAN SOLDIER 26 

fond of them. If nothing worse should block his path, 
he would have no difficulty in getting to Cg.na some time 
during the next day. 

The sun went down, and a cloudless night came on. 
The sky seemed to blaze with stars, and the young traveler 
could still find his way, somewhat more slowly, along the 
lanes which led from house to house and from hamlet 
to hamlet. It was toilsome journeying, and there was 
now added the danger of being taken by anybody and 
everybody for a prowhng robber. 

They would make short work of me,’^ he said, or I 
might be sold for a slave. They would not crucify me, 
but they would surely scourge me.^^ 

It seemed as if Cyril gave hardly a thought to the fact 
that he had gone without any supper. Perhaps he was 
used to privation. At all events, he at last lay down under 
the shadow of a wide-branching olive-tree, and went to 
sleep as peacefully as if he had no enemies in the world. 
His last thought was : 

Father will escape them — I know that he will. To- 
morrow will be the fifth day of the week, and I shall see 
Lois before sunset.^^ 


CHAPTER IV 


BRINGING HOME THE BRIDE 


)OUT an hour after Cyril lay down at the foot of 



the olive-tree, that Wednesday evening, Lois was 
one of a joyous procession which set out from the house 
of Rabbi Isaac, as soon as word arrived that the bride- 
groom was coming. Already, at the house of the bride’s 
father, all the wedding formalities and ceremonials re- 
quired by the Law or by Galilean custom had been fully 
performed, and the bridal procession from that place was 
winding its somewhat noisy way through the narrow and 
crooked streets of Cana. The bridal pair were escorted 
by all wbo had any right or will to accompany them. 
When the procession from Ben NassuPs house met them, 
it faced about, forming one company, which increased as 
they went along. 

The bride herself, closely attended by the bridegroom 
and his friends, was the central figure ; but of her nothing 
could be seen excepting the tresses of flowing hair which 
escaped from under her veil. Her robes, however, were 
glittering with all the jewels of her family for which a 
place could anywhere be found. There were many musi- 


BRINGING HOME THE BRIDE 


27 


cians, — flute-players, beaters of cymbals, and others, — 
and there were a number of fine singers among the girls 
who came dancing along in front of the bride and groom, 
singing the songs that befitted the occasion. Most of 
these were in praise of the beauty and good qualities of 
the bride. Among all the singers there was no voice 
sweeter than that of Lois. She was accompanied by her 
friends and neighbors j and each young girl carried in 
her hand a lighted lamp, and all were exceedingly careful 
lest it should go out, for an idea of evil fortune attached 
to such a happening. The lights of the little lamps carried 
by the dancing, singing maidens, however, were as nothing 
compared with that of the blazing torches borne by the 
young men who went before or at the sides of the proces- 
sion. This was evidently no ordinary wedding, in the 
estimation of the people of Cana. 

When the house of Ben Nassur was reached, most of 
the merrymakers were at liberty to return to their own 
homes ; but a chosen few walked in with the bride and 
groom, and thereupon the outer door of the house was 
shut. 

The fifth day of the week, Thursday, would be counted 
as the first day of the feast, and during seven days Ben 
Nassur would keep open house in honor of his son^s 
wedding. 

The fifth day of the week dawned brilliantly over Ju- 
dea. Ezra the Swordmaker was just then cautiously 
emerging from an opening which, at a little distance. 


28 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


looked like a crack or furrow in the steep side of a hill. 
His place of refuge for the night had been one of the 
numberless caves, partly natural and partly artificial, with 
which all that region abounds. They form very safe 
hiding-places both for hunted men and for wild beasts. 

Ezra stood still for a moment in the doorway of his 
cave, and drew a long breath, glad^o see the light and to 
breathe the fresh morning air. 

“ Cyril is safe by this time,” he said. “ He must have 
passed the border. So am I safe, but — of what use am 
I now ? ” He groaned as he lifted his right hand. I can 
hardly call myself a man,” he said. “ I must go and hide 
in the wilderness of Judea. My days of service are done. 
There is no power on earth that can restore a withered 
hand ! ” 

For withered it was : shriveled and crooked and gnarled. 
He could neither grasp with the nerveless fingers nor 
straighten them, and he let his arm fall loosely at his side, 
and, turning, speedily disappeared in the forest. 

There were a great many people coming and going that 
day at the house of the wise rabbi Isaac Ben Nassur. 
They were not all Cana people, by any means. The bridal 
feast was spread in the large front room opening upon 
the porch, and all who had a right to enter were wel- 
comed heartily. Food was plentifully provided, but the 
merriest hour of each day would be after sunset, when, 
the day^s work being done, all the invited guests would 


come. 


BEINGING HOME THE BEn)E 


29 


The bridegroom was continually present, to receive con- 
gratulations and good wishes. With him were several 
young men of his more intimate friends; but decidedly 
the most important figure in that room was Isaac him- 
self. As master of the house and as ruler of the feast, he 
sat at the head of the long table provided for the occa- 
sion. His dress was as simple as ever, but it seemed to 
have undergone a change, he wore it with so grand an 
air. He appeared to be happy, and he received great re- 
spect from the throng of people who came to congratulate 
him upon the marriage of his son. 

So the marriage-feast went on until the mid-day was 
past and the shadows began to lengthen in the streets of 
Cana. In the shade of Ben Nassur^s house, hours before 
sunset, on the easterly side, stood two young people, half 
hidden by the vines and shrubbery, who seemed to have 
forgotten all about the wedding. Their talk was subdued 
but exceedingly animated, for Cyril had arrived and he 
was telling Lois of aU that had happened since they had 
parted at Samaria so many months before. She was as 
earnestly patriotic as Cyril himself, and her face said 
more than her words while she listened to CyriFs account 
of the doings of Samaritans and Romans, and of the deeds 
of her father and his friends. Then he told her of his 
own feat at the Kishon, and her bright black eyes flashed 
with exulting admiration of a brother who had actually 
struck off the helmet of a Roman legionary. 

Oh, Cyril ! — what a soldier thou wilt be ! ” 


30 


THE SWORDMAKER'S SON 


If the King were here to lead us ! ” broke in Cyril. 

Oh, for the Messiah, the Captain ! I could fight under 
him.’^ 

Cyril,” replied Lois, “I have somewhat to tell thee. 
Nathanael, Isaac^s friend, was at the Jordan where John 
the Baptizer is preaching. That was several weeks ago. 
He came back with a report about Jesus of Nazareth, and 
how John had said of him that he was the Lamb of God. 
It is so strange ! ” 

Herod has imprisoned John in the Black Castle,” said 
Cyril, not far from the Dead Sea.” 

But he is a prophet,” said Lois ; Nathanael believes 
it. The carpenter^s son is of the royal house of David. 
He will be here to-day with some of his friends from 
Caperaaum and Bethsaida, and thou wilt see him.” 

Cyril listened in silence, for the tidings deeply interested 
him. He had dreamed and hoped and talked, as had all 
other Jews young or old, about a Prince of the house of 
David, an Anointed Deliverer ; but it was quite another 
thing to be told that the man he longed for had already 
been found, and that he was to meet him at the house of 
Ben Nassur. 

Come,” said Lois, I will show thee his mother. She 
is there by the well, waiting for him. She is Hannah’s 
near kinswoman, and we love her greatly.” 

He is only a carpenter now,” said Cyril. 

Rabbi Isaac said to Nathanael that Jesus is indeed a 
lineal descendant of David, but he is not a soldier. He 


BEINGING HOME THE BRmE 


31 


reads in the synagogues, and he has been preaching much 
of late. Still, Isaac says he is not learned like a rabbi.” 

I wish I could see him,” exclaimed Cyril. 

Come,” said Lois, again ; and they went slowly, talk- 
ing almost in whispers. Lois had not yet seen the son of 
the carpenter of Nazareth, and her eagerness to do so 
was quickly communicated to her enthusiastic brother. 
He felt his heart beat more quickly, and his breath came 
faster, as she told him of the various marvels that had 
been crowned at last by the testimony of John at the 
Jordan. 

Even while he was in the water,” she said, “ a beauti- 
ful white dove came down and alighted on his head, and 
there was heard a voice from the heavens.” 

“I wish I had been there!” exclaimed Cyril. “But 
is that Mary, his mother ? ” 

“ Yes ; she stands there — there by the well,” said Lois. 
“ Is she not a noble-looking woman ? And she says her 
son has never seemed just like other men.” 

But such was not the opinion of Isaac Ben Nassur and 
other leading residents of Cana and of Nazareth. They 
knew the young Jesus (or Joshua, as they more frequently 
called him), the son of Joseph. They had seen him from 
boyhood. They thought no less of him because he worked 
for a living : the wisest and greatest rabbis did so. More- 
over, it was an important matter that he was of the royal 
line of David, now so nearly extinct; every Jew was 
ready to acknowledge so rare a distinction; but there 


32 


THE SWORDMAKER^S SON 


their reverence ended, for otherwise he had neither rank 
nor power. The older and wiser they thought themselves, 
the less they were concerned about NathanaePs talk of 
the marvelous occurrences at Bethabara. 

Cyril and Lois were young, and were neither wise nor 
learned. They, therefore, were more and more excited as 
they drew nearer the nobleiooking matron who stood by 
the well, gazing expectantly down the street. Her face 
had just been lighted by an expression of pleasure ,* but 
now it suddenly clouded again, as if something whispered 
to her by a woman who came from the house might be 
unpleasant tidings. At that moment also, the bridegroom 
himself appeared in the doorway, accompanied by his 
mother, Hannah ; and his face, like her own, wore an 
anxious look. 

Such a disgrace, Raphael ! ” exclaimed Hannah, in a 
half-frightened tone — “ to have the supply of wine fail 
on the first day of the feast ! ” 

The tax-gatherers are to blame ! ” he responded, in 
angry mortification. ^‘They had secured almost every 
wine-skin that was for sale in Cana. So I sent all the 
way to Chorazin, and I provided abundance ; but the tax- 
gatherers have stopped it on the way. They declared that 
it had not paid its full duty ; but I know that is untrue. 
They have taken it — they are robbers ! 

Raphael was sorely mortified. Anybody might have sym- 
pathized with him. Such a scarcity would be considered 
a disgrace to his whole family and to that of his bride. 





BEINGING HOME THE BRHDE 


35 


Do not tell your father, yet,’^ said Hannah. “ But 
what are we to do ? 

Cyril and Lois, out by the well, had now heard this 
news, the same which had so clouded the face of Mary. 

The publicans took it,” whispered Lois ; but her brother 
was gazing earnestly at the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, 
and so did not reply. He could not explain to himself 
what it was that was so different in her manner from any 
of the other women around her. Her face was so pure, 
so good, he thought ; so full of light as she now turned 
again to look down the street. Then she exclaimed: 

Hannah ! He is coming ! He will be here quickly.” 

“ Cyril,” said Lois, pointing, look ! There is Jesus of 
Nazareth ! He is come ! ” 


CHAPTER V 


WINE FOR THE FEAST 


HERE were half a dozen men in the foremost group 



JL of the new-comers, and others were not far behind 
them. All were in their best array, in honor of the wed- 
ding. They were strongly made, brawny, resolute-look- 
ing men, of the somewhat peculiar Galilean type, with 
faces bronzed by the sun and hands hardened by toil. 
There was no need for Lois to point out to Cyril the one 
of whom she had been speaking. 

Somewhat in advance of the rest walked one who was 
speaking to a vigorous, fiery-eyed man, who strode along 
at his side. Could this really be the heir of David and of 
Solomon, this simply dressed and quiet Galilean ? 

Whether or not Cyril had begun to form expectations 
of a different kind, this was the man of whom Nathanael 
had spoken to Ben Nassur. He wore no crown, no sword, 
no jewels ; and Cyril had not supposed that he would. 
But there was about him no sign of soldiership, or lead- 
ership, or of authority. 

He is no captain,” thought Cyril, sadly ; “ he is no 
warrior ; he seems no greater than other men ! ” 

The boy had a sense of disappointment, so little cause 


36 


WINE FOE THE FEAST 


37 


for enthusiasm or hope did this man from Capernaum 
seem to bring with him. He should have been very 
different, if he were indeed to be a king. 

Nevertheless, Cyril could not turn his eyes away, al- 
though they failed to keep an accurate picture which he 
could afterward remember. He was sure, indeed, that 
this man, while no taller than others, was of at least full 
height, broad-shouldered, muscular, with the firm, easy 
step and movement which belong to men of perfect form 
and unimpaired strength. He was as erect as a pine, and 
his sashed tunic and fiowing robe, not different from 
others around him,, befitted him well. Cyril took note of 
even his hair and beard ; but if the boy also tried to tell 
the color of the eyes, he could not do so, for his own sank 
before them, and he had a curious sensation of being 
looked through rather than looked at ; and yet his heart 
beat high and fast for a moment. 

“ Lois,” he whispered. 

Hush ! ” she answered softly. Mary is about to 
speak to him.” 

The party from Capernaum had halted at the well, and 
Mary stood in front of her son, looking up at him with 
an expression that seemed to be partly doubt and partly 
expectation. Before a word was said by either of them, 
Lois whispered to Cyril : 

^^Look! just see how he loves her!” 

Hush ! — listen,” said Cyril — for at that moment the 
lips of Mary parted. 


38 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


Her heart was full of the grave disaster which threat- 
ened the wedding-feast, and behind her stood Hannah, 
the bridegroom^s mother and Mary’s friend and kins- 
woman. 

They have no wine ! ” said Mary. 

Why does she tell him ? ” whispered Lois j and some- 
thing of the same idea was expressed in the answer of 
Jesus. A different spirit, nevertheless, was manifest in 
the kindly manner and smile with which he replied: 
“Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is 
not yet come.” 

Mary must have understood her son’s meaning better 
than others did or could, for she at once turned to those 
who stood by the well. Among them were servants of 
Ben Nassur, and she said to these : 

“ Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” 

“Will he send them for wine?” thought Lois. “I 
heard Raphael say there was none to be had in Cana. He 
may send even to Nazareth.” And Cyril exclaimed aloud : 
“ I will go with them.” 

But at that moment the man Cyril felt so ready to obey 
pointed to the great jars by the well and said : 

“ Fill the water-pots with water.” 

There had been many ceremonial washings that day, as 
the guests of the wedding came and went, for not one 
had gone in without pausing by the well. The water-pots 
were therefore nearly empty, and it would require much 
drawing to fill them. 



6 


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LOIS, MY PITCHER IS FULL OF WINE 








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WINE FOR THE FEAST 


41 


This must be done before he sends for the wine,” said 
Lois. His mother knows he has some.” 

Or she certainly would not have asked him to provide 
some for the feast,” said Cyril, leaning over to lift his full 
bucket from the well. 

There was even some haste and a kind of excitement 
among those whose ready hands were drawing and pour- 
ing; and in a few minutes more the sunshine sparkled 
upon brimming fullness in the last of the six jars. 

Now we are to go for the wine,” said Cyril. 

They can^t drink water at a wedding-feast,” thought 
Lois. 

There was a startled look upon every face around her, as 
she glanced from one to another, for the next command was : 

^^Draw out, now, and bear to the governor of the 
feast.” 

Cyril could not account for the tremor he felt as he 
dipped a pitcher into a water-pot, filled it, and lifted it, 
and stepped away toward the house. 

Water, for the governor of the feast?” he thought. 

Water, to Ben Nassur himself ? Does he mean to mock 
the rabbi, because there is no wine ? ” 

Still, he could hardly help looking into the pitcher in 
his hands. Just behind him was Lois. Suddenly she 
heard her brother exclaim : It is wine ! Lois, my pitcher 
is full of wine ! Let me see yours.” 

Down came her pitcher, and the two were placed side 
by side. 


3 


42 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


“ Oh, Cyril ! ” said Lois, it is wine ! Was that what 
Jesus meant?” 

It must he,” said Cyril, in a low voice. Then, after a 
pause, We must carry it in. Come ! ” 

Behind them followed the line of servants. In a mo- 
ment more the two tail, slender pitchers were deposited 
before Isaac Ben Nassur, at the head of the table. It was 
his duty, as ruler of the feast, to critically taste each new 
supply of refreshments provided, and now he quickly 
fiUed a drinking-vessel, for a hint of the threatened 
scarcity had reached him. 

Cyril and Lois, and behind them the servants of the 
house, with Mary and Hannah and several others, gazed 
expectantly upon the face of the rabbi, waiting for his 
opinion. A little distance from him, at his right, pale and 
red by turns with anxiety, stood his son, the bridegroom. 
To him Ben Nassur turned, well pleased and radiant, but 
still somewhat judicial, as became the ruler of the feast, 
and remarked : 

Every man, at the beginning, doth set forth good 
wine, and when they have well drunk, then that which is 
worse ; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” 

So it was said by all. It was as if it had been recently 
pressed from the best grapes of the vintage. 

“ Cyril ! ” exclaimed Lois, as they hurried out, so awed 
that they were almost frightened, it was water, and it 
became wine ! ” 

^^What will the people say?” said Cyril. “I wish I 
dared to ask him if he is to be our king.” 


CHAPTER VI 

CAPERNAUM 

H OW great was the wonder of the guests who drank 
the good wine at the marriage-feast when they 
learned that the pitchers must have been filled from the 
well in front of Ben Nassur’s house. 

The rabbi himself had not been among those who stood 
at the well. He had only seen the wine brought to him 
in pitchers. But Mary and Hannah, the men who came 
with Jesus, the house-servants, and a few others, well 
knew the water had been changed into wine. 

Cyril and Lois had no opportunity to discuss the mat- 
ter until late that evening. 

A sleeping-place, even for Lois, had to be found at the 
house of a neighbor,* and the best that could be done for 
Cyril was to give him the freedom of the flat roof of 
Isaac^s own home. 

It was no hardship to sleep there, during a warm night. 
Cyril and his sister went up to the roof while yet the 
sounds of merriment, the music, and the singing, came up 
from the marriage-festival below. 


43 


44 


THE SWORDMAKEE'S SON 


It was a beautiful night, and the roof was cool and 
quiet. 

Cyril came up first, and he stood at a corner leaning 
over the stone parapet, when Lois joined him. 

‘‘ I cannot be mistaken,” said Cyril, as if thinking aloud. 

poured the water into that jar, and I saw it was wine 
when I took it out in my pitcher, and carried it into the 
house to Ben Nassur. All the servants saw that there 
was water in the pitchers first, and afterward there was 
wine.” 

It is true. So it was in mine,” said Lois, who had 
come to his side. “ They all go to Capernaum to-morrow. 
Jesus of Nazareth means to live there. His mother will, 
too, for a while. Then she returns to her own house, at 
Nazareth. I wish I could live with her.” 

I would like to know what sort of work I can find to 
do while I am there,” exclaimed Cyril. 

I know what I am going to do, I think,” said Lois. 

There is a woman named Abigail the tallith-maker, who 
lives there. Some of the women at the wedding told me 
she wants a girl who knows something of the trade to 
work for her. I learned needle- work while I was staying 
in Samaria.” 

“ Thou didst very good work,” said Cyril. There is 
more to do in Capernaum than there is here. I ’ll find 
some work.” 

Most of the people are fishing-folk,” said Lois. The 
lake is full of fish.” 


CAPERNAUM 


45 


Sometimes little is taken, they say,” replied Cyril. 

But I must try it. I long to see Jesus of Nazareth, and 
he will be there. What did he mean by the words he said 
to his mother — ‘ Mine hour is not yet come.^ ” 

I do not know j I did not understand them. I mean 
to be with her, part of the time, while she remains there,” 
replied Lois. I go to Capernaum, to-morrow, with her 
and her friends.” 

I am glad,” said Cyril, I will go, too. Jesus is to stay 
in Cana, for a day or two, but I ’ll come.” 

Lois bade her brother good-night, and Cyril was alone 
upon the roof. 

‘^1 wish father could see this man, Jesus of Nazareth,” 
the boy said to himself. Father is an experienced old 
soldier, and has been a captain. He would know what 
the people might expect of him.” 

Ezra the Swordmaker had studied carefully, and had 
talked with his son about the ways and means for collect- 
ing, equipping, and arming a force of patriotic Jews such 
as might, at some future day, drive out the Romans and 
destroy the power of Herod. 

At last Cyril went to sleep, but when he awoke, in the 
morning, his head was still full of the arrangements for 
his proposed journey from Cana to Capernaum. 

Lois also was making ready, and both Rabbi Isaac and 
his wife were entirely satisfied with the plans of their 
young relatives. There would be more room in the some- 
what overcrowded house in Cana. As for the transfer of 


46 


THE SWOEDMAKER^S SON 


Mary’s residence from Nazareth to Capernaum, for a sea- 
son, such temporary removals were not at all uncommon 
among the Jewish people. 

Only two days later, and while yet the wedding festivi- 
ties continued in the house of Isaac, Cyril and Lois reached 
Capernaum. Their little baggage was carried by one don- 
key, while Lois rode another, and the hire of these ani- 
mals made the first large draft upon the money Cyril had 
received from his father. 

The direct distance from Cana was only about twelve 
miles, but the road so wound among hills as to make it 
longer. Both brother and sister felt they had never 
before seen so beautiful a country, and when at last they 
came out in sight of Chinnereth, or the Sea of Galilee, 
they understood why the rabbis declared: ^^God made 
seven seas in the land of Canaan, but chose for himself 
only one — the Sea of Galilee.” 

The lake itself was beautiful, and the shores were lined 
with cities, larger or smaller, or with palaces whose 
grounds and gardens came down to the water’s edge. Ca- 
pernaum was a well-built and prosperous place at some 
distance from the shore, but there were no buildings 
along the beach near it; only boat- wharves, here and 
there, little more than mere landing-places in the little 
bays which indented the long, curving shore-line. 

The region was a kind of fisherman’s paradise ; and 
around it was also a rich farming country, with a climate 
so mild that even figs and grapes ripened during ten 


CYlilL AND LOIS ON TIIEIR WAY TO CAPEKNAUM. 






CAPERNAUM 


49 


months of the year, and the fruits of temperate and tropi- 
cal regions grew luxuriantly, side by side. The popula- 
tion was dense, and it was a continual marvel that the 
lake was not fished out, so numerous were the fishermen 
and so heavy were the catches. All the country around 
furnished them a market, and Cyril was assured that he 
would find enough to do, but that his wages would barely 
support him j so he was glad when Lois was kindly wel- 
comed by Abigail the tallith-maker. This woman made 
other garments worn by the people among whom she 
lived, and it was of importance to her that the brother of 
her new assistant was a youth whose training under so 
good a smith as Ezra enabled him to mend her needles of 
all sizes. No doubt even the very smallest of them would 
seem both coarse and clumsy to the eyes of a modern 
seamstress. 

Cyril, from the hour of his coming, was full of the idea 
which had brought him to Capernaum j and it may have 
been his eagerness to see and hear Jesus of Nazareth 
which brought him into acquaintance with Simon and 
Andrew, and several other men. Soon after his arrival 
he told Lois: 

The people around the lake know more about Jesus 
than is known at Nazareth. He teaches and preaches 
here and all come to hear him. They believe about the 
turning of the water into wine more readily than some 
of those who saw the water drawn and carried into the 
house.” 


50 


THE SWORDMAKER^S SON 


Lois could hardly have told how happy she was. She 
was not conscious that she had ever been at all afraid of 
so wise and learned a man as Rabbi Ben Nassur, but she 
felt more at ease now she was not near him. Besides, 
during several weeks she was often with Mary and her 
son. She sat at her work in the quiet house dreaming 
over the stories that were told her of the carpenter^s son. 
Some of them went back to the very cradle of Jesus, and 
this, as Lois now knew, had been a manger in a cattle- 
stable, in Bethlehem of Judea. 

None of these stories had been written down, but Lois 
learned them all by heart, and she would think of them 
whenever she saw Jesus or heard him teach. 

Cyril had thoughts and dreams of his own very differ- 
ent from hers, for his spirit was becoming more and more 
warlike. He saw that Jesus had been making himself 
well known in many places, and would soon be widely 
talked of. It was the right thing to do, if he was ever to 
raise an army among the Gahleans. So Cyril considered 
it his own duty to seize upon every opportunity for study- 
ing, as his father had bidden him, the fortifications of the 
towns and cities near the lake, and for witnessing mili- 
tary parades and marches, and for examining weapons of 
all sorts and whatever else could be made use of in war — 
in the war of Jews against Romans, in which he hoped 
to be a soldier. 


CHAPTER VII 


JERUSALEM 

S OMETHING in the air of the beautiful country 
around the Sea of Galilee seemed to give its people 
tranquillity. Everybody was busy, indeed, and it was not 
difficult to earn a living where the needs of all were so 
simple. There was no contentment, however, for the 
yoke of the Roman foreigner pressed heavily, and so did 
the oppressions of Herod Antipas, whom no Jew could 
regard but as a foreigner, although his mother had been 
a J ewess. Every act of brutal cruelty and every merci- 
less exaction which the Galileans suffered helped to keep 
them in mind of the prophecies of future freedom. 

There had never been a time when all Jews were so 
busy with thoughts concerning the coming of the Mes- 
siah, and their fixed idea was that he was to be a glorious 
conqueror and king, one greater than David or Solomon, 
one who was to make the Jews the foremost nation on 
the earth. 

Lois and Cyril saw each other almost daily, and all 
their thoughts and talk were about their father. They 
longed to know what had become of him, but there were 
no tidings. 


51 


52 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


wish father could come and see the Teacher and 
hear him/^ said Cyril, one day. He and Lois had been 
talking of the subject which was uppermost in the minds 
of the people, and Cyril had been studying the stockade 
at the Eoman camp. 

Lois was thoughtfully silent, and he went on : 

Father ought to be getting ready, if there is ever to 
be a rising against the Romans. He knows hosts of men 
all over the country. He knows old fighting men, and 
they know him. He could get them together, too, when- 
ever the right time comes. Oh, if his right hand were 
sound, what things he could do ! 

The Nazarene is not often in Capernaum now,^’ said 
Lois. ‘‘ He is teaching and preaching among the villages, 
everywhere, and so many go to hear him.” 

“ I wish I could see him do some new wonder ! ” ex- 
claimed Cyril. They fil forget all about the wine at 
Cana. I met a man who was at the wedding, and he said 
he thought I was mistaken in what was done.” 

For some undeclared reason, the Teacher, as all men 
except the rabbis called Jesus, was only teaching and 
preaching among the towns around the head of the lake. 
He was becoming widely known, however, as those who 
heard him carried news of his discourses, and as yet he 
had not made enemies. 

The days and weeks wore on until the autumn went 
by, and then the winter, of that mild climate. The land 
grew green again with the swift growth of the spring 


JERUSALEM 


53 


crops. The time drew near for the annual Passover 
Feast, and every year a host of pious Galileans — all who 
were able — were sure to celebrate it at Jerusalem. When 
it was announced that Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples 
intended to go, most who heard it took it as a matter of 
course, but it aroused enthusiasm in Cyril. am going/^ 
he said to Lois. “ I cannot take thee this time j we have 
not money enough. But I must be with him at Jerusa- 
lem. Who knows what great works he will do when he 
gets there ? Isaac Ben Nassur is going, and the Cana 
people.” 

I wish I might go with thee ! ” said Lois. Thou 
canst not wish to go more than I do. I want to see Jeru- 
salem — I want to see the Temple. I long to see what the 
Master will do there.” 

wish I could take thee with me,” said Cyril. “We 
will try to have more money for the journey next year. 
But he surely will not yet try to take Jerusalem; I do 
not think there will be any fighting this time. I do not 
see how he ever can take that great city ; it is so strong. 
But he must take it some day, if he is the predicted king. 
Father says there will be a terrible battle, and I am to be 
in it. Our captain will have to raise an army from all 
over the country.” 

Lois made no reply to that. She had never been able 
to think as Cyril did of the Teacher. She could not 
imagine him with a sword in his hand, fighting other men. 

One of CyriPs ideas had been that the journey of Jesus 


54 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


of Nazareth to Jerusalem would be like a royal progress, 
and that he would preach to crowds along the way as he 
was accustomed to do in Galilee. But Cyril was mis- 
taken, for the Teacher traveled both quietly and rapidly. 
As for the boy himself, he believed he was safe in cross- 
ing the district of Samaria, so completely was he hidden 
among the crowds of Passover pilgrims. From these pil- 
grims the Samaritans kept away, and to them the Roman 
soldiers paid no manner of attention. The weather was 
glorious ; not too warm for traveling, except in the middle 
of the day j and all the country was in bloom and green. 

The Passover was to be eaten on the fifteenth day of 
the month Nisan, or April j but earlier than that multi- 
tudes began to gather at Jerusalem, from all parts of the 
world 5 for there were great preparations to be made be- 
forehand. Some of these had reference to food and 
lodgings, but even more were connected with the sacrifices 
to be offered in the Temple. 

The Temple, crowning a high hill, and visible from a 
great distance, was in a vast inclosure of strongly fortified 
walls. Within this there were several minor inclosures, 
separated by walls and by gates which were themselves 
important features of the gilded splendor of the most 
costly and beautiful place of worship on all the earth. 

These inner inclosures were called “ courts,” and opened 
into one another. Beyond the outer court, none save 
those known to be Jews could enter, and they only after 
ceremonial preparation. Nevertheless, the outer court, 


JERUSALEM 


55 


just within the Temple wall, was part of the Temple, the 

sacred place,” the “ house of God.” Because others than 
Jews were permitted to enter, it was called the Court of 
the Heathen or Gentiles. According to the Scriptures, 
and all the teachings of the rabbis, this court was holy. 
Into it nothing unclean could be brought. In it nothing 
could be bought or sold, nor could any trade be carried 
on there. The entire area, and not a part only, was 
solemnly consecrated and set apart for worship. Never- 
theless, so bad had become the management of the Temple 
affairs by the priests and other rulers, that during four 
weeks before the Passover all the laws were set aside, and 
this court was rented out to dealers in cattle and all sorts 
of merchandise, and to brokers who exchanged current 
coins — such as Jewish shekels and half -shekels — for the 
foreign coins brought by worshipers from other countries. 
The holy place, therefore, was lined with cattle-pens, the 
booths of tradesmen, the tables of money-changers, coops 
of doves, while droves of cattle and sheep, and swarms of 
buyers and sellers, shouting, jostling, bargaining, and 
even quarreling, turned the entire court into a sort of fair, 
where a vast amount of cheating, extortion, bribery, and 
other mischief went on continually. 

If Cyril had heard of all this desecration of the Temple, 
he thought no more of it than did others, for it was a 
thing to which even those who condemned it had become 
accustomed. 

The road from the north, by which the Galileans came, 


56 


THE swordmae^:r’s son 


must wind among the hills as it nears Jerusalem, but at 
last, just after the city comes in sight, the road descends 
into a valley. When that is passed, there is a long ascent 
to the great gate in the high and massive wall that then 
guarded the c pital of Judea. 

Cyril’s eagerness increased as he drew nearer, and at 
last the long procession of pilgrims he was with reached 
the ridge of the Mount of Olives, and he could see the 
city. 

‘^Jerusalem is glorious ! ” he exclaimed. “What mas- 
sive walls, and great towers ! They say there is a whole 
legion of Roman soldiers camped near the city, and that 
the garrison inside is always very strong at Passover 
time. What can our Nazarene do with them? He is 
going into the city.” 

Hardly a pause was made, indeed, by the Teacher and 
his friends. They were not hindered at the gate, and 
Cyril hardly allowed himself to wonder at the palaces and 
forts and other splendors as he followed close after Jesus 
of Nazareth up the steep street that led to the Temple. 
It would have taken him or anybody long enough to tell 
of what he saw by the way j the throngs of people from 
every nation he had ever heard of, the many different 
kinds of dress, the horses and their trappings, the cha- 
riots, the flowers and fruits, the shops and merchandise, 
the women in bright colors, the slaves, the soldiers in 
their armor, the men whom he knew to be gladiators, 
trained to flght in the terrible arena outside of the walls. 



“ ‘ JERUSALEM IS GLORIOUS ! ’ ” 




JERUSALEM 


59 


It was still early in the forenoon of the bright April day 
when the Teacher passed into the outer court of the 
Temple. His face took on an expression of sadness and 
severity as he gazed upon the scene of traffic and con- 
fusion before him. 

Only for a few moments, however, did Jesus linger and 
look. His friends from Galilee, as many as were with 
him, may have had errands of their own among the buy- 
ers and sellers, for when he suddenly turned and walked 
away out of the court, he went almost alone, only Cyril 
following, at a little distance, half breathless with awe 
and with an intense anxiety as to what might be about 
to come. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE SCOURGE OP SMALL CORDS 

I N the city of Jerusalem, as in other Oriental cities, the 
several trades were not in every quarter, but the deal- 
ers in different wares generally kept separate. Cyril could 
not have found his own way to any quarter, but he could 
follow his captain, as he considered him, to a narrow 
street near by, mainly occupied by dealers in rope, cord- 
age, and similar wares. There were also tent-makers in 
that street, and it was by the shop of one of these that 
the Teacher halted. 

Hanging in front of the booth were quantities of the 
small, strong, tough cords used for tent fastenings j and 
Cyril wondered to see the Teacher buy some of these. 

Cyril and the dealer looked on with more than a little 
curiosity. A bunch of the cords were at first cut into 
lengths, and then the Teacher plaited them into a kind 
of whip, half as large at its beginning as a man’s wrist. 

Swiftly he worked and dexterously; .and Cyril watched 
him from a little distance. 

The whip, or “ scourge,” was soon finished ; and he who 


THE SCOURGE OF SMALL CORDS 


61 


made it rolled it up and silently strode away toward the 
Temple, whither Cyril followed him. 

Through the great gate and into the outer court they 
went, past the glittering ranks of Roman legionaries 
posted there to put down any Jewish tumult j the hub- 
bub of buying and selling was before them. 

It seemed to be at its height. The unseemly disorder 
was even louder than usual. Sheep bleated, fowls crowed, 
cattle bellowed, men shouted to one another. 

What will he do ? ” exclaimed Cyril, for now the whip 
was raised above the head of the Master. Stern indeed 
was his face at that moment, as he drove forth the chaffer- 
ing throng. Loud bellowed the beasts as they fled in 
terror, and loudly, for a moment, shouted their astonished 
and angry owners. 

“They will turn and stone him!” was one quick 
thought in CyriPs mind j but it vanished. 

Not even the cattle and the sheep fled more unresist- 
ingly than did the human beings from before that scourge 
and from the rebuking face of him who wielded it. The 
dealers in fowls caught up their coops and cages to hurry 
them away, but no such escape was permitted to the deal- 
ers in money. A moment before they had been sitting, 
in their customary insolent security, behind their tables, 
upon which were piled the various coins they dealt in. 
Of all the thieves who polluted the Temple they were the 
worst offenders. A punishment came to these men that 
they could feel more deeply than even the scourge, for 


4 


62 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


the Teacher grasped the nearest table and scattered the 
ringing coins on the marble pavement, as he said : 

“ Take these things hence ; make not my Father’s house 
a house of merchandise.” 

Cyril thought for a moment of the armed guards of the 
Temple. They were there, truly, but this was a matter 
that seemed to concern the Jews and their religion — not 
the guards at all, for the guards were Romans. 

There was nothing, apparently, for Cyril to do, nor for 
any man of the throng which was now gathering behind 
the Teacher. His own disciples were there, and a fast- 
increasing throng of sturdy Galileans, whose faces showed 
hearty approval of his course. 

So the buying and selling which had so long polluted 
the outer court of the Temple came to an end. Cyril was 
a Jewish boy, and he could perfectly understand the ac- 
clamations that were arising so noisily on all sides. He 
knew that the Teacher from Nazareth had only acted in 
accordance with the public opinion and the religious feel- 
ing of the Jewish people. Every rabbi and every pious 
Israelite would surely approve of what had been done. 

But the priests and the rulers — what will they think 
of it ? ” — was a question in Cyril’s mind, and others felt 
as he did, for he heard one of the disciples say to another : 

It is written, ^ The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.’ ” 

The only criticism came from one of the Jewish by- 
standers, speaking as if for the others. He said, as 
questioning the Master’s authority : 



THE MONEY-CHANGERS AND DEALERS EXPELLED EROM THE TEMPLE 






THE SCOUEGE OF SMALL CORDS 


65 


^^What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou 
doest these things?” 

It sounded like an entirely reasonable question, con- 
sidering what a responsibility had been taken in enforcing 
the Temple law of holiness entirely without the authority 
of priest or ruler, and the reply was : 

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it 
up.” 

It did not appear to be an answer. It did not offer even 
the sign demanded, for nobody could or would destroy 
the Temple; and the questioner responded : 

Forty and six years was this temple in building, and 
wilt thou rear it up in three days ? ” 

No more was said, but many were beginning to treasure 
the utterances of the Galilean Teacher, and this saying 
of his was not forgotten. Cyril could not then, nor for 
long afterward, have understood at all, if he had been 
told that Jesus really spoke of the temple of his own body. 
But in later times his answer was thus explained. All 
Cyril then knew was that the expulsion of the money- 
changers was a proof of power by one who would soon, 
he fuUy believed, draw the sword of a military leader, 
and become a captain of the house of Israel. 

Just then he heard a voice behind him in tones of 
strong approval: 

He has done well. He is for the Law. He is of the 
house of David ; he should be zealous for the Law.” 

Cyril turned to look into the glowing face of Isaac Ben 


66 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Nassur. The cleansing of the Temple was in accordance 
with the, strict principles of the learned rabbi, and Isaac^s 
next words to Cyril were both cordial and affectionate : 

“Come thou with us. Thou shalt eat thy Passover 
lamb with thine own kindred. Thou belongest with us.” 

This invitation was in keeping with Jewish custom, and 
Cyril went with Isaac. He felt himself, however, a very 
insignificant addition to the party, which included some 
of the most dignified men of Cana. 

Isaac^s wife, Hannah, was with him, and there were 
other women belonging to the several families repre- 
sented. 

There were yet two days to be spent before the Pass- 
over itself 5 and Cyril at first knew hardly what to do 
with them. He heard, however, that the chief priests and 
the rulers of the Temple had immediately issued orders 
that the outer court of the Temple should be kept abso- 
lutely clear of everything and everybody prohibited by 
the Law. 

A complete victory had therefore been gained. As for 
the Romans, or any other heathen, they did not care how 
strict might be the religious notions of anybody who did 
not meddle with their power to govern Judea and to 
collect the taxes. 

Cyril’s main idea, as soon as his mind began to clear a 
little, was to find out all he could about the Roman power. 
As he learned its extent, his respect for it grew. With 
the dawn of each day, he was out from among his friends. 


THE SCOUEaE OF SMALL COEDS 


67 


bent upon learning all about Jerusalem. They, too, had 
much that required their attention, and did not give him 
a thought. 

The walls were so high that it seemed impossible for 
any enemy to get over them. There were towers, and 
there were guards at all the gates. The castles and forts 
were so many and so strong, and the soldiers were so 
warlike, so well trained, the city seemed unconquerable. 

It made Cyril’s heart sink, the day before the Passover, 
when he went out by the Roman camp and saw a legion 
of the men who had overcome the armies of all nations 
drawn up in glittering ranks to be reviewed by their offi- 
cers, and by some great men who were there from Rome, 
and by some visiting princes from other provinces who 
were guests of the rulers of Judea. He asked himself 
sadly, how could the coming king of Israel gather a force 
strong enough to withstand the Roman legions, of which 
so many could be sent against him, or how could he 
drive them out of such a stronghold as the walled city 
Jerusalem ? 


CHAPTER IX 


HEROD’S AMPHITHEATER 

T he Passover feast was eaten with all solemnity, and 
Cyril went with Ben Nassur and his friends, before 
and afterward, to witness tfte Temple sacrifices and to 
take part in the grand ceremonies. He heard the priests 
and Levites chant the psalms ; he saw the smoke go up 
from the altars. It seemed to him that he had never be- 
fore had any idea of what it was to be a Jew and to have 
a right in Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, the Holy 
Place, to which all the nations of the world were one day 
to come and worship. It was to be a wonderful kingdom ; 
but, somehow, the more he thought about it and the more 
he saw, the smaller grew the idea which had brought him 
to the feast — the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was really 
the king who was to come. It had not seemed so in- 
credible while he was among the hills of Galilee. 

During the few days before Ben Nassur and his friends 
were to set out for home, Cyril saw hardly anything of 
the Teacher. On one of those days he went to the amphi- 
theater, the circus which Herod the Great had built, at 
some distance from the city. He paid for a seat in one 





HEROD’S AMPHITHEATER 


71 


of the upper galleries. On the tiers of seats below him 
were all sorts of people, and far away, on the opposite 
side of the vast arena, the sandy level in the middle, he 
saw, in the lower tier, a canopied place that was furnished 
magnificently. In it there were throne-seats, and on them 
sat King Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilatus, the Roman 
governor, two Roman generals, with other distinguished 
men, and a number of richly dressed women, some of 
whom wore brilliant tiaras or coronets upon their heads. 
He stared at them for a few minutes, and at the tremen- 
dous throng of people, but after that he thought only of 
what was going on in the arena. 

There were chariot races; and Cyril could not help 
beiug intensely excited by the mad rush of the contend- 
ing teams, while all the thousands who looked on shouted 
and raved. After the races, however, came scenes some 
of which made him shudder. There were foot-races and 
boxing-matches, but these were soon over, and then there 
were contests between pairs of swordsmen, spearmen, club- 
men, and the like, in which the fights went on until one of 
the combatants was slain. Close upon the last of these 
duels, bands of gladiators marched in from opposite sides 
of the arena, and charged each other like detachments of 
soldiers upon a real battle-field. The fighting was furious 
and desperate, but one side was soon beaten, for the par- 
ties had not been equal. One party had been trained 
warriors, professional gladiators, and the other only com- 
mon men, captives taken in a recent raid of Pilate^s sol- 


72 


THE SWOEDMAKEE’S SON 


diers upon a wild tribe beyond the Dead Sea. They were 
brave enough, but they were put there only to be killed 
for the amusement of the great men and of the multitude. 
So were the poor victims with whom the day’s exhibition 
closed, for they were driven into the arena, half armed, 
to contend as best they could with a number of hungry 
lions, tigers, leopards, and hyenas, which were loosed upon 
them from their dens under the tiers of seats. 

Oh ! ” thought Cyril, if our king were to come, he 
would never permit such cruelty as this ! I ought not to 
be here ! I will not come again ! ” 

It was no place for him, and yet he had all the while 
been thinking of some things that he had seen, and of 
more that he had heard, of the dealings of Herod and 
of the Romans with such Jews as had offended them. 

They seem,” he said to himself, “to enjoy putting our 
people to death, just as they enjoy the suffering of cap- 
tives and gladiators in the circus. The king will drive 
out these wicked Romans when he comes and takes the 
kingdom.” 

Cyril had something new to hear that night, his last 
night in Jerusalem. Rabbi Isaac, during the first few 
days after his arrival, had had a hard time of it ; so many 
people had inquired of him concerning Jesus of Naza- 
reth, the Galilean Teacher, and particularly about the 
wonder performed at Isaac’s house, in turning water into 
wine. The rabbi had firmly declared all he knew, but the 
dread of having to tell it over and over had inclined him 


HEROD’S AMPHITHEATER 


73 


to keep away from questioners. Of any other marvelous 
things which had been done in Galilee he knew nothing. 
Neither did Cyril, but now something entirely new and 
positive had come. The Nazarene, as some men called 
Jesus, had been healing sick people in Jerusalem during 
the Passover season — not a few, but many. His fame 
was growing rapidly, and the Passover pilgrims would 
carry news of him not only to every corner of the land 
of Canaan, but to other lands — to the very ends of the 
earth. 

Ben Nassur said that he wished he had seen some of 
these marvelous cures j but his regret was slight compared 
to that of Cyril. 

I did not think he would heal the sick in the city,” he 
said. “Yet I might have known the Teacher would do 
wonderful works. But I have learned all about Jeru- 
salem.” 

“ Thou hast done well enough,” said Isaac. “ Thou art 
only a youth. What wonder he has healed the sick ? He 
is of the house of David. He is now a rabbi, truly. But 
Nathanael is wrong, for he is not the coming king of 
Israel. They will never anoint him. No, no, my son ; 
he will never be the Anointed.” 

Cyril was silent. Ben Nassur had spoken in Hebrew, 
and the words he used, “ the Anointed,” were the very 
words which, translated through the Greek and Latin 
tongues into our own, are “the Christ.” 

Cyril went to sleep that night with the determination 


74 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


to cease his sight-seeing about the city. He would keep 
as close as he could to the Teacher, so that he might see 
him do works as remarkable as that which he had done 
at Cana. 

Perhaps Isaac had formed a like purpose, but it was too 
late, for almost the first words Cyril heard from him the 
next morning were these : 

“The son of Joseph of Nazareth hath departed for 
Galilee. It is time for us also to go. Get thee ready. 
We shall see, now, what he will do in his own country.’^ 

It was all in vain that Ben Nassur and his friends pre- 
pared in haste, for Jesus and his disciples were a day^s 
journey on their way. As for Cyril, he felt that a mis- 
fortune had befallen him ! 

“ I long to see the wonderful works he is doing,” he 
thought ; “ and I shall not be with him.” 

And indeed many were healed all along the homeward 
way. Ben Nassur and those who were with him heard 
accounts of these events from place to place. He had 
worked wonders even at and near Samaria. When they 
reached Cana, the Master had been there already. He 
had preached there, and he had healed the sick j then he 
had gone onward toward Capernaum. 

“ My son,” said the rabbi to Cyril, with great dignity 
of manner, “ I will go to Capernaum myself. There have 
been many rabbis who have healed the sick. It is won- 
derful, but I have heard of such marvels j yet it is my 
duty to see it done.” 


V 


HEROD’S AMPHITHEATER 


75 


So the wise and learned rabbi hardly paused in his 
journey save to sleep one night at his own house in 
Cana. He even bade Cyril go forward that very evening, 
promising to follow in the morning. 

It will be the sixth day,” he said. I must be in 
Capernaum to hear him preach in the synagogue on the 
Sabbath.” 

Simon is living at Capernaum now,” said Cyril. 

Thou wilt find me at his house. I shall see Lois, too, 
and she will tell me all she has heard about the Teacher, 
and where he is to preach.” 


CHAPTER X 


IN CAPERNAUM 



HEN Cyril reached Caperuaum he did not fin d 


T T Lois at the house of Abigail. He went there at 
once, only to be told that his sister had gone to the house 
of Simon Peter to help, for his wife’s mother was sick. 

Simon’s house was toward the seaj and even before 
Cyril reached the house he learned that Jesus had not yet 
returned to Capernaum. He was preaching in one of the 
neighboring villages, and would not be in his own town 
again before the Sabbath. 

Lois had watched for her brother when the time for 
Cyril’s arrival drew near, and he found her waiting for 
him in the porch of Simon’s house. Her face seemed sad, 
too, in spite of the pleasure she felt at seeing him. 

I am so glad thou art here,” she said, in her very 
earnest welcome. ‘‘ I hope that the Teacher will come ! 
She is so sick, I think she will die. Where didst thou 
leave him?” 

Cyril had a wonderful story to tell, but he did not tell 
it to Lois alone. Even Simon’s wife left her mother for 
a moment, and came out of the house, and some of her 


76 


IN CAPERNAUM 


77 


friends came with her. The nearer neighbors had seen 
Cyril arrive, and they gathered about him to learn the 
news, according to the custom of village folk. He was 
quickly the center of a little group of questioners and 
hearers, old and young, and to them he related the clear- 
ing of the Temple by the Teacher of Galilee. Yet they 
were not so much impressed by the stories of cures, for 
these Cyril had heard of but had not seen. 

Thou shouldst have remained with him,” said Lois, 
reproachfully. Then thou couldst have told us more of 
what he did.” 

“ He will be here on the Sabbath,” replied Cyril. ‘‘ Ye 
will then see for yourselves what he will do.” 

He will not cure anybody on the Sabbath,” remarked 
one of his hearers. “We must wait until next week.” 

The people separated, and Cyril went into the house ; 
but the questions of Lois had only begun. As they went 
in, however, she pointed toward the door of the sick room 
and whispered: 

“ If the Master could cure her ! We think she cannot 
live. I wish he would come ! He does not even know she 
is sick. Simon is with him, and perhaps even he has not 
yet heard of her sickness.” 

Cyril sympathized with her thoroughly, but as he turned 
to go, he exclaimed again : 

“ Lois, if thou hadst but seen him in the Temple. He 
fears no one. I hope that he will be our leader against 
the Romans.” 


78 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Cyril believed that the time for him to be a soldier was 
drawing near. All through that night he dreamed of 
marching legions and of battle-fields. When the next 
morning came he went out to find that the people of Ca- 
pernaum were waiting in a state of impatient expectation 
for the arrival of the man whom some of them called 
“The Prophet of Galilee.” 

The Sabbath began with the evening of our Friday, and 
the sun set without the arrival of any further tidings 
except that the Teacher might be expected to preach in 
the synagogue on the next day. During that sixth day 
Lois was too busy for more than a brief talk with her 
brother, but she was waiting even more eagerly than he. 

Sabbath morning came, and the hour (about nine o^clock 
of our time) for the synagogue services drew near, but 
Ben Nassur had not been seen in Capernaum. Cyril pre- 
pared to go early, but Lois was to remain at Simonas 
house. She was sincerely glad to be there and to help, 
but she could not help saying to herself : “I wish I could 
be at the synagogue, and that I could see and hear him ! ” 

The first thing that Cyril saw to interest him that Sab- 
bath morning was the throng passing along the street 
toward the synagogue, with the Teacher. He had walked 
several miles to reach the synagogue, and some of his 
followers had come all the way with him. 

“There is Ben Nassur,” exclaimed Cyril. “But who 
is that behind him?” 

The very strict rabbi had strained a point and had 


RABBI BEN NASSUU AND THE THRONG BEFORE THE HOUSE OF SIMON PETER. 









IN CAPERNAUM 


81 


walked further than the Law allowed on the Sabbath, in 
order to attend these synagogue services. The throng 
was dense, so that the Teacher and his disciples advanced 
slowly. Among the crowd walked a tall, haggard, wild- 
eyed man, to whom no other spoke, and from whose 
parched and panting lips no sound was uttered. 

Is he insane ? ” whispered Cyril to Ben Nassur, when 
they met and when the rabbi had greeted his young 
kinsman. 

Not so,’^ responded Ben Nassur. He hath a demon, 
it is said. Such cases are more and more numerous, now- 
adays. Only the 6hief priests can aid these sufferers — 
they and the most learned rabbis.” 

Cyril had heard that even the rabbis and the priests 
avoided undertaking to remedy these evils, which some 
called casting out unclean spirits, and he asked the 
question, What is this they call a ‘ demon ^ ” 

“No man knoweth,” calmly replied the rabbi. “ But I 
have thought that Herod hath one,” he added thought- 
fully. 

During all the usual opening services the Teacher sat 
in silence, but afterward a parchment copy of the Scrip- 
tures was handed him, and he read from it several pas- 
sages. Then he rolled up the parchment, handed it back 
to its keeper and began to speak. 

Cyril was leaning forward to listen, when he became 
aware of a man moving close beside him, and a fierce face 
was pushed toward his shoulder. Cyril shrank away, al- 


82 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


most in fear, for now came a loud voice, as if some power 
within the man spoke through his lips : “ Let us alone j 
what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? 
art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee, who thou art, 
the Holy One of God.’^ 

Ben Nassur had risen upon his feet, and so had other 
men, in the intensity of their surprise and curiosity. 

But there was no change in the manner of the Master, 
except that he at once spoke, as if reproviugly : 

“ Hold thy peace, and come out of him.” 

Down fell the man, as if some wrestler had thrown 
him, but when, a moment later, he arose again, he was 
found to be altogether himself, quiet and sane. 

“ Is the demon gone ? ” exclaimed Cyril. Where did 
he go ? What is he ? ” 

“ He is gone,” said a man who pushed close to him. 

But what a word is this ! for with authority and power 
he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 

Those who stood near Isaac Ben Nassur said afterward 
that he seemed to be completely overawed by this 
evidence of power. 

As for Cyril, his first impulse was to go and tell Lois. 
It was all the easier to go, because he could not now get 
anywhere near the Master, and because the crowd was 
slowly making its way out of the synagogue. He reached 
the house of Simon, and Lois listened in silence to his 
wonderful story; but she seemed to be thinking of 
something else. 


IN CAPERNAUM 


83 


‘‘lam glad the man was cured,” she said. “ Why can- 
not the Master do something for the people of this 
house ? ” 

Cyril did not make any reply, for up the street toward 
Simon’s house, at that moment, was coming the crowd 
that accompanied the Teacher. 

“ I believe he is coming to see her,” whispered Lois. 
“I hope he is.” 

He reached the door, but did not pause there. He 
walked through the main room, and was led into the 
smaller one, where the sick woman lay. 

Little enough could any Jewish physician do for the 
sufferers from the malignant fevers bred by the marshes 
around the Sea of Galilee. What would the Teacher do 
in such a case ? What comfort could he give to the poor 
woman who lay there tossing and moaning ? 

The Teacher was now standing by the sick woman, but 
neither Cyril nor Lois caught the few words that he 
uttered as he took the sufferer by the hand, and raised 
her gently. He did not seem to be speaking to her, but 
Lois exclaimed, joyfully: 

“ Cyril, Cyril ! The fever has left her. She is cured. 
She is well ! ” 

And indeed the matron so suddenly restored to health 
was quickly out among her kinsfolk. Her very gladness 
for her recovery at once expressed itself, moreover, in 
her zeal for the hospitable entertainment of him who had 
cured her, and of her thronging guests. 


5 


84 


THE SWORBMAKER^S SON 


Not far from the outer doorway stood Isaac Ben Nas- 
sur. His face expressed both wonder and disapproval. 
He, at least, remembered what so many others had for- 
gotten — that this was the Sabbath day, a day upon 
which not even such ministration to the sick was per- 
mitted by the rabbis. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE CAVE OF ADULLAM 

T he law of the seventh day of the week, as inter- 
preted by the rabbis, enjoined a quiet Sabbath after- 
noon. During the hours when perfect rest was observed, 
however, the news of the TeachePs power to heal spread 
rapidly from house to house; and people everjT-where 
made ready to claim his aid as soon as the Law would 
let them. 

Ben Nassur had been consulted by several persons, 
and, among other wise remarks, he had said : 

I did not see the water changed into wine. Neither 
did I see this woman cured. She was cured, she got up, 
and came out. I know no more than that. I do not say 
yet what it is best for the people to think or believe 
concerning this Teacher.” 

When the sun went down everybody in Capernaum 
was listening for the trumpet, in front of the synagogue, 
to tell them that the Sabbath hours were over. 

At leugth came the signal to the clustered homes of the 
city, and to the scattered dwellings of the fisher-folk 
along the shore. It was heard by rich and poor alike, by 

86 


86 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


sick and well, and from every direction they went in a 
swelling tide toward the open space in front of the house 
of Simon. 

It was stiU daylight when Cyril and Lois stood and 
watched the Master and the people. 

He laid his hands on every one of them, and healed 
them,” said Lois, as she and Cyril walked away, for the 
darkness came on, and the crowd was dispersing. Cyril, 
I heard some voices crying, ^ Thou art the Anointed ! ’ 
and as if answering them I heard the voice of the Teacher 
reproving and forbidding them.” 

It is not time yet,” said Cyril. If the Romans sus- 
pected that he was the King, and was to be anointed over 
all Israel, they would slay him.” 

Would they really slay him?” exclaimed Lois. ^^For 
healing the sick?” 

Not for that,” replied Cyril j “ but for being the King, 
to raise a rebellion. I mean to watch all night. If he 
goes away, I must go with him. How I wish father were 
here ! He would know what to do ! ” 

Neither his son nor his daughter knew where Ezra the 
Swordmaker was ; but it was many and many a long mile 
from Capernaum. With a number of companions he was 
in hiding within a great cave. 

It was exceedingly dark, excepting in one spot. That 
also was gloomy and strange enough. A cresset, or 
basket made of thin strips of iron, for holding embers to 


THE CAVE OF ADULLAM 


87 


give light, swung at the end of a chain that hung from a 
dim frame- work high above the ground. The cresset was 
about two yards above a mass 'of iron, smooth on top, 
which could be recognized as a rude but serviceable anvil. 
This was indicated also by a brickwork forge, a bellows, 
hammers, charcoal, and ashes, with other evidences of the 
blacksmith’s trade. 

The place was neither untenanted nor silent. Not far 
from the anvil sat or lay the party of bearded men, to 
whom a voice, deep and solemn, was rehearsing the story 
of the doings at Jerusalem during the Passover week, 
the cleansing of the Temple, and the teachings of the bold 
prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. 

It was an exciting and wonderful story, for it contained, 
though with some exaggerations, aU the tales brought to 
Jerusalem by the enthusiastic men of Galilee. The name 
of Rabbi Ben Nassur and the wonder of the wine at the 
marriage feast were by no means omitted. Dark faces, 
bronzed and scarred, upon which the red light fell from 
the fragments of resinous wood that were blazing in the 
cresset, grew more striking in the earnestness with which 
they listened. 

Some turned to look at one another, or at the almost 
unseen narrator, back among the shadows; but one 
brawny form by the anvil never stirred. This man’s head 
was bowed forward and the face could not be seen ; but 
one bare arm rested on the mass of iron, so that the hand 
— a right hand — lay upon the pointed projection at one 


88 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


end. It was a hand, truly, but twisted and gnarled out 
of all shape, and its very fingers were shrunken to little 
more than the bones. 

Men and brethren,” said the speaker, in conclusion, 
they call us robbers of the wilderness j disciples of John 
the Baptizerj followers of the old faith. We who wait 
for the hope of Israel know that John, indeed, is in prison. 
He is bound in the deep dungeon of the fort of Machae- 
rus. But this new prophet of Galilee, what shall we say 
of him?” 

There was silence for a moment, and then another voice 
answered : 

^^Let us go and ask John. They still permit us to 
speak with him. Herod has shut John up, but dares not 
harm him. I was with him, by the Jordan, when he bore 
witness of this man of Galilee. Let us know from his 
own lips what he will say of him now.” 

Then spake the strong man by the anvil : 

“ Go ye to John. I will go to Galilee to inquire for my- 
self. The boy who was with Rabbi Ben Nassur is my 
own son. Perhaps he can tell me somewhat. I am of no 
use here. I can ply the hammer no more. Ye must find 
you another swordmaker. For if this is indeed the King, 
the day of those who can draw the sword is not distant ! ” 
Slowly he arose to his feet, and in a moment more Ezra 
the armorer had disappeared in the gloom beyond the 
red light from the cresset. 


IN THE CAVE OF ADULLAM. 







THE CAVE OF ADULLAM 


91 


There was no gloom in Capernaum that night. There 
were only such shadows as the moon might permit, while 
it shone so brightly among the trees and houses. The 
lake was one glitter of dancing waves, and in many a 
household, until slumber quieted all, there were glad hearts 
and joyous words, because of the sicknesses of all sorts 
which had departed at the touch of the Master. 

Cyril did not sleep. Neither was he at the house of 
Simon. Lois was there still, although Simon’s wife’s 
mother no longer needed the attention of her young 
nurse. Ben Nassur was at the house of a friend, a rabbi. 

Cyril did not sleep, nor did he long remain in one place, 
for he was, in his own mind, acting as volunteer sentry, 
or rather guardian, around the house which contained the 
leader who would yet, he was almost ready to believe, 
become his captain and his king. All night long he 
stealthily patrolled, hither and thither, or lay concealed 
among trees and shrubbery, and at last, in the dark hour 
that comes before the dawn, he was rewarded. The moon 
had long since gone down and it was starlight only, but 
he saw the house-door open. He saw the Teacher walk 
out, silently, and pass away through the empty streets 
out of the city. And Cyril followed until a lonely, deserted 
spot was reached. 

‘^He is safe there,” thought Cyril. I ought to go and 
tell Simon and the other disciples. ” 

It was a simple task to find them, and then with them 


92 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


went out a rapidly increasing throng to gather around 
the Master and beg him not to go away. There were still, 
they said, many sick people in and around Capernaum. 

must preach the kingdom of God to other cities 
also,” was the answer 5 ^‘for therefore am I sent.” 

So those who had heard him dispersed to their own 
places. Isaac Ben Nassur returned to Cana. Lois went 
back to her needlework at the house of Abigail. Cyril, 
much against his will, was compelled to go to the fishing- 
boats and his daily, or, more often, nightly toil upon the 
Lake of Galilee. He could not possibly accompany the 
Teacher upon a long tour of preaching and healing, from 
city to city, and so Lois plainly told him : 

He has not bidden thee to come with him. Thou art 
better in Simon’s boat, or John’s, while they are with the 
Master. I too would wish to go, but I must stay here in 
Capernaum at work with Abigail.” 


CHAPTER XII 


THE HEALING OF THE LEPER 


iL over the world, in those days, there was a strong 



belief that some being was to come and bring with 
him a great change for good. The Jews especially be- 
lieved this, because it was prophesied in their scriptures. 
They expected a king descended from David, — the Mes- 
siah,” — who would not only restore the kingdom ruled 
by David, but add to it all other kingdoms, so that the 
Jews would rule the world. All that was said about the 
Messiah, the Christ,” however, made it plain that the Jews 
had formed positive ideas as to what he would be and 
what he would do, and therefore they were prepared to 
oppose the adherents of one who did not fulfil their ex- 
pectations. Cyril was like the rest: the kingdom he 
hoped for was one which would require grand palaces, 
strong castles, great armies, and more splendor than that 
of Herod or even of the Emperor of Rome. He and Lois 
were aware that they were growing older, and able to 
share in the prosperity of their people, and they both 
were glad of this. Lois feared that her brother, though 
so strong and energetic, was growing almost too fast ; 


94 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


but be was so erect and soldierly, sbe thought, and be 
was nobler, finer-looking, than the other youths along 
the lake-shore. Not one of them could overcome him in 
their wrestling games, and he surpassed them all in other 
trials of strength and skill. 

^^His only dream,” she said to herself, ^4s one day to 
be a captain in the army of our King.” 

Tidings came at last that Jesus was once more drawing 
nearer to Capernaum, teaching and healing as he came. 
He was soon reported to be among the neighboring vil- 
lages, and Cyril said to Lois : I am going to find him.” 

So it came to pass that, one sunny morning, Lois stood 
and looked lovingly, proudly, after her brother, as he set 
forth to seek the Master. 

I wish I could go with him ! ” she thought. “ But 
Cyril will return and tell all he has seen.” 

^‘We know now,” Cyril was thinking as he went his 
way, the wonderful things the Master can do. He has 
cured the sick everywhere. And why can he not bring 
back the greatness of our nation?” 

He was in a discontented state of mind, and he walked 
rapidly. As he went along the road, he suddenly heard 
a strange cry, and exclaimed : Poor creature ! I must 
not come too near him ! ” 

Upon the cool breeze was borne that cry so mournful, 
so forlorn, that it might have touched a harder heart 
than CyriPs. 

“ Unclean ! Unclean ! Unclean ! ” It was the warning 



“THE rOOK OUTCAST WAS EVIDENTLY MAKING A DESPERATE EFFORT.” 





THE HEALING OF THE LEPER 


97 


shout of a leper, one of the victims of the most terrible 
of all diseases. This poor outcast could hardly walk, and 
he was evidently making a desperate effort. Indeed, only 
the strength of despair forced him along the road. 

Cyril shuddered, glancing in the sufferer^s face, and, as 
the poor man passed, he said to himself: leper? 

Could the Master cure him f ” 

If there were any limit to the healing power, it might 
well be found here. Cyril could already see the throng 
at the wayside, gathered around the Master, and he said. 

The leper is seeking him ! ” 

Could it be that the outcast himself had any hope, any 
expectation of aid? 

With every moment Cyril found his interest in the un- 
fortunate man increasing. It was terrible to think that 
nothing could be done ; that he would have to withdraw 
himself from the crowd, as the law required. 

Now the prophet of Nazareth, as many called him, was 
standing in the shade of a tree at the roadside, and the 
crowd pressed about him. John was there, and James, 
with Simon, and others whom Cyril knew 5 but what sur- 
prised Cyril was to see, just behind the tall form of 
Simon the dignified rabbi, Isaac Ben Nassur. 

He had come, indeed, all the way from Cana, to con- 
tinue his duty as a rabbi and a keeper of the public con- 
science concerning any new doctrine. He had probably 
just arrived, for there was no dust upon him, nor any 
other sign that he had come with that throng of wayfarers. 


98 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


Unclean ! Unclean ! Unclean ! There was now an 
appeal in the leper^s warning. 

He may have feared some hand of local authority for- 
bidding him to come nearer. Those near him, indeed, did 
shrink away, as he came hurrying forward, for he was an 
object to cause repulsion. Still, even while withdrawing, 
the crowd made way for him, and the leper fell upon his 
knees at the feet of the Master, breathlessly looking up 
into the face of the man of Nazareth. 

Cyril saw that John and Simon and Ben Nassur and 
the rest were crowding forward. 

Then came the pitiful appeal from the lips of the kneel- 
ing leper, ^^Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” 

They saw the Master^s hand go out to touch the poor 
suppliant, and then the gentle voice spoke : I will j be 
thou clean.” 

Breathless expectation made an oppressive stillness that 
was quickly broken by a smothered exclamation from the 
lips of Isaac Ben Nassur. 

“ It is indeed a miracle ! ” he muttered. He is made 
clean ! ” 

Cyril gazed in wonder, for swift indeed was the change 
which came upon the face that made him shudder when 
h^ passed it on the road. It was as if new blood began 
to course through every vein of the kneeling man, as if a 
fountain of new life had been opened in him to send its 
healing forces through every nerve and fiber. For one 


THE HEALING OF THE LEPER 


99 


moment only he continued kneeling, in a glad, half- 
doubtful astonishment, and then he slowly arose. 

And now the Master said solemnly to the man whom 
he had healed : “ See thou say nothing to any man ; but 
go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy 
cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a 
testimony unto them.” 

^^That is right,” muttered Ben Nassur, approvingly. 

He is truly a rabbi. He is zealous for the Law. It is 
safe for the people to follow him.” 

“ But the healing cannot be kept secret. Everybody 
saw it done,” thought Cyril, as he looked again into the 
now bright, joyous face of the healed man, who was 
gazing in speechless gratitude upon that of the Master. 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE SICK OF THE PALSY 

T he healing of the leper was soon told to the people 
of Capernaum. The report went abroad also to 
other communities, and many of the Masters teachings 
went with it. 

When, a few days later, the Master came to Caper- 
naum, it seemed that all the people came swarming around 
the house of Simon, where he was staying. John and 
Andrew and the other disciples were with him, and so was 
Isaac Ben Nassur. Lois was yet in the house when the 
Master came. 

Cyril remained outside among the throng, which was 
now so dense that it was impossible for any more to get 
into the house. The words of the Teacher, however, 
could often be heard from outside. 

From another corner of the little city there had arrived 
four men bearing a litter, or hammock, wherein lay a 
man who seemed beyond all aid. He was more helpless 
than the leper, for this man could move neither hand nor 
foot. Still it was firmly the conviction of Cyril, as well 
as of the palsied man’s carriers, that if the Master could 
touch him he would be helped. The men seemed puzzled 


100 


THE SICK OF THE PALSY 


101 


by the crowd, but after some consultation they advanced 
toward the house. 

They are going to let him down through the roof. I 
can help ! ” exclaimed Cyril. 

They could not have done so if the house had been a 
well-built, massive two-story structure, like that of Ben 
Nassur at Cana. There were few such in Capernaum, 
however, and that of Simon was like most of the other 
dwellings, of only one story, with a slight roof, a wooden 
framework plastered with mortar, and covered thinly with 
earth and tiling. 

The friends of the sufferer were strong and zealous, 
and no man hindered them. They hoisted the hammock, 
and long cords were tied to its four corners. A few min- 
utes of work with trowel and hatchet and hands, and 
Cyril and the others on the roof were able to lower the 
helpless paralytic into the house. 

The Master had healed many sick with various diseases, 
but never so helpless a man as this. Cyril peered down 
through the broken roof in eager expectation, and Lois, 
in the room below, crept nearer, till she could put one 
small brown hand upon a corner of the hammock and 
gaze at the deathlike face whose nerveless lips were 
without motion or expression. 

One swift glance upward at the expectant faces of those 
who had in this way overcome the obstacles between their 
friend and his helper. He saw their faith, and turning to 
the palsied man, the man of Nazareth said : 


102 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” 

Now,” thought Lois and Cyril, he is going to lay his 
hand on him and heal him.” 

They were waiting breathlessly, for a moment; but 
other thoughts than theirs were half angrily manifesting 
themselves in the darkening faces of the most important 
men who heard. There were among those who so filled 
the room scribes learned in the law, men of sacred author- 
ity, rabbis as wise as Ben Nassur, or wiser; and their 
very eyes burned with the indignant protest their tongues 
were not ready to utter : “ Why doth this man thus speak 
blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins but God only ? ” 

Then, as if they had actually spoken : 

“ Why reason ye these things iu your hearts ? ” said the 
Master unto them. Whether is it easier to say to the 
sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say. 
Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk ? ” 

Cyril was looking at the yet motionless face in the 
hammock. 

“ The Master has not touched him,” said Lois to her- 
self. He did not ; he only looked from one to another of 
the scribes, as if he were reading their hearts, like written 
books, and said : 

“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath 
power on earth to forgive sins — ” he paused, and, looking 
down, said to the man sick of the palsy, “ I say unto thee, 
arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way unto thine house.” 

Up rose the form that had been so nearly without life. 


THE SICK OF THE PALSY 


103 


SO utterly without motion. The hands which a moment 
before could not move their fingers, reached down and 
picked up the hammock. The dense crowd parted before 
him as he turned toward the door, and he walked away 
with the firm, elastic tread of health and strength 
Nevertheless, the thronging to see such a proof of power 
compelled Jesus to leave the house and go to the seaside 
to teach the rapidly increasing multitude. 

Cyril did not go with them at once. And while he was 
assisting the workmen who had come to close the open- 
ing made to let down the palsied man, Lois found an 
opportunity to say to her brother : 

heard Isaac Ben Nassur and the scribes talking 
among themselves. They were disturbed, and seemed 
greatly offended because all, even the lowest people in 
Capernaum, are flocking to hear him. What has he to do 
with them? I heard Ben Nassur say that they are accursed. 

What do they mean, Cyril?” Lois went on, ^^must he 
not be King over everybody when he establishes his 
kingdom ? ” 

Yes,” said Cyril, doubtfully ; and I suppose some of 
these people will make good soldiers. Father says the 
Romans are wise, and they make soldiers of any that can 
fight. We Jews are to be the captains.” 

Before long Cyril had a puzzling matter to consider — 
the same question that interested all those who, like Ben 
Nassur, were ready to believe that the prophet of Nazareth 
was really a rabbi, zealous for the Law. 


6 


104 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


It was no new thing for a Jewish teacher, rabbi, or 
prophet to select from among his friends or pupils a cer- 
tain number who made up his school or traveling house- 
hold. Already it was well understood that John and 
Peter and their brothers were in this way followers of 
Jesus; but Jesus now formally filled the number up to 
twelve, as if, some thought, to represent the tribes of 
Israel. No youth like Cyril could hope to be among these ; 
but it was at least expected that the chosen would be 
Jews of good standing, and men of acknowledged 
patriotism. 

^‘He has not selected them for captains,^^ said Cyril 
to himself, concerning certain of the chosen disciples. 

Most of them are fishermen or working-men.” 

When Cyril next saw the Rabbi Ben Nassur, he told 
Cyril indignantly that the latest choice made by the 
Master was no other than Levi, the tax-gatherer of Ca- 
pernaum, the publican,” who exacted the imposts of the 
Romans, and was more hated than any Roman — even 
more despised than any Samaritan — for doing so. His 
other name was Matthew, and every zealous Jew regarded 
him as a traitor to his nation, and worse than a heathen. 

^^He called him even as he was actually sitting at the 
seat of custom, receiving taxes for our oppressors ! ” de- 
clared the angry rabbi. 

Did Matthew follow him ? ” asked Cyril, with boyish 
directness. 

He left everything, and followed Jesus. He is to be 


THE SICK OF THE PALSY 


105 


one of the twelve/^ said the rabbi. “ They are all in his 
house now — publicans and sinners — and the Man of 
Nazareth is eating and drinking with them. I will have 
done with them. I will go back to Cana. I can have no 
fellowship with the accursed.” 

So he went his way, full of bitterness. 


CHAPTER XIV 


JOHN IN ^^THE BLACK CASTLE” 

E astward from the dull and almost waveless waters 
of the Dead Sea, there is a wild and gloomy land of 
mountainous heights and dark, precipitous ravines. On 
one of the highest points of rock, overlooking the sur- 
rounding country, Herod had constructed over the ruins 
of a former fort the stronghold and palace of Machserus, 
or ‘‘ The Black Castle.” A town had grown up near by, 
with heathen temples, a theater, and places of trade and 
manufacture. The palace had been made so splendid that 
Herod preferred it as a residence, especially as it was close 
to the frontier of Judea, and as from it he could readily 
go to any other part of his dominions, un watched and 
unimpeded. Here, at least, he could do whatever he 
pleased, and all prisoners were a,t his mercy. 

It was by no means safe for a stranger to draw near to 
the frowning gates of the citadel of Machaerusj but the 
disciples of John did come, again and again, only to be 
refused admission. For a long time, therefore, the Bap- 
tizer was in comparative ignorance of what might be 
going on in the great world beyond the castle walls. Its 

106 


JOHN IN ‘‘THE BLACK CASTLE'^ 


107 


kings might come or go ; its kingdoms might rise or fall ; 
its cities might prosper or perish; and no news of all 
could penetrate the solid stone that walled him in. 

A deep, dark, rock-hewn room was that dungeon under 
the citadel of Machasrus. High up, near the outer level, 
was one small window, and the door was heavy, barred 
and grated. 

Its occupant was a gaunt, tall, bearded man in a coarse 
tunic of camePs hair girded with a broad belt of leather. 
He had preached to multitudes, and he and his disciples 
had baptized vast numbers. He had actually brought 
about an important reformation in public morals; but, 
more than all, he had proclaimed himself one sent to de- 
clare the speedy coming of another mightier than I,” 
concerning whom the people who heard John obtained 
only a vague idea. But John^s hearers were encouraged 
to expect the King who was to restore the throne and 
crown of David. 

Whatever John had understood or expected, his work 
seemed ended, for there was no possible escape from 
Herod's dungeon. 

It was ended; and yet, one morning, some faithful 
friends who came to the outer gate of the castle to seek 
him found the gate open. They were led in, past other 
gates, through corridors, down flights of steps, until they 
were permitted to stand at the grated door of the dun- 
geon. After their greetings they told him their errand. 
One after another, they related the story of all that had 


108 


THE SWORDMAKER'S SON 


been done by the one whom John himself had baptized, 
and whom he had declared prophetically to be the Lamb 
of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.” 

Their sad voices were echoed by the vault where their 
prophet was now confined. If, indeed, the promised One 
had come, why should his first witness be condemned to 
the Machgerus dungeon ? So the burden of their report 
and their question was, What hast thou to say of Jesus 
of Nazareth?” 

John heard them patiently, but he could not answer 
their questions. All he could say was : 

^‘Go, two of you, and ask him, and bring me word 
again.” 

Not all of those who came had been admitted within 
the castle walls. At some little distance down the slope 
there sat by the wayside one who seemed to have come 
with them. He was a large man in tattered raiment, and 
now he sat there as if begging, holding out for alms, to- 
ward the gay courtiers and guests of Herod who saun- 
tered by, a withered hand. He did not ask in vain, for 
now and then a coin was thrown to him ; but oftener he 
met a scornful rebuff. 

He sat there until at last the great gate of the citadel 
once more was opened, the outer guards stepped aside, 
and the little band of the Baptizer’s disciples came de- 
jectedly out into the road that led on downward toward 
the town. They made no pause until they reached the 
beggar by the wayside. As they drew near he arose to 






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JOHN IN “THE BLACK CASTLE” 


111 


his feet, his manner no longer that of a beggar pleading 
for alms, bnt rather that of a soldier awaiting orders. 

^‘What saith the prophet?’^ he asked. ‘‘What doth 
he tell you of the Galilean ? ” 

“ He can tell us nothing,” said one of the foremost of 
John^s visitors — one who had been a spokesman in the 
dungeon. “But he bade me and Cleopas go and seek 
Jesus, and ask, so that not only we, but John himself, 
might know what to think of this matter.” 

“I go also, then,” responded Ezra the Swordmaker. 
“ Perhaps this time I can succeed in passing through Pi- 
late^s dominions to Galilee. They can but slay me. Thrice 
have I tried and failed. I will go alone, lest the swords 
that would slay me should find you also. My hand betrays 
me to Pilate’s men j it is like the mark of Cain.” 

That hand indeed was a reason against venturing once 
more among the enemies from whom he had escaped. It 
was better that the two disciples of John should select a 
different route, and follow it by themselves. Ezra, there- 
fore, turned away from them, and long before sunset had 
reached a rocky ridge, east of the Jordan, from which he 
could look back upon the beetling battlements of Machae- 
rus, far away on the horizon. At his left, southerly, 
spread the glassy, gloomy water of the Dead Sea. 

“ I must see him,” he said. “ I must see Jesus of Naza- 
reth, and find out who he is. First of all, however, I must 
find Lois and Cyril. God keep them ! But who can re- 
joice in his children during such troublous times as these 
bid fair to be?” 


112 


THE SWOEDMAKER^S SON 


Meanwhile Cyril and Lois, far away, had been listening 
to a sermon which the Teacher had preached to a great 
multitude. When they discussed it afterward, they were 
able to repeat parts of it with the accuracy which was 
common to the Jewish children, trained in the severe 
schools of the rabbis. 

^‘You remember more than I,” said Cyril to Lois, at 
last. “ How I wish father could have been there ! And 
what a multitude there was ! Yet all could hear him.” 

I long for a sight of father^s face more and more,” 
replied Lois. I know it is not safe for him to come, but 
he would be almost safe if he could once get into Galilee.” 

Perhaps he would,” said Cyril. He is now, I believe, 
somewhere in J udea, or beyond it, in the wilderness.” 

This was the first time that either she or Cyril had fol- 
lowed the Teacher so far from their home in Capernaum. 
That city was now many miles away, and Cyril did not 
mean to return to it at once. 

Suppose,” said Cyril, that we set out with the Teacher 
and the Twelve to-morrow, and go as far as Nain? We 
can then take the highway from there all the way to Ca- 
pernaum. That will make our journey shorter than to 
go back the way we came.” 

Lois assented, for it was in accord with a promise of 
speedy return which she had made to Abigail. 

The next morning came, and Cyril and Lois were among 
the long, continually changing throng which followed 
Jesus toward Nain, as similar crowds had attended him 
from place to place in all his toilsome, unceasing ministry. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN 

E ven the greater number of those who were present 
could not be near enough actually to see a sick 
person healed, because of the crowd. 

“We will keep as near him as we can/^ remarked Cyril 
to Lois, at setting out. 

Others were as eager as they, however j and much of 
the time they vrere compelled to follow at some distance, 
and talk with each other or with various wayfarers con- 
cerning works of marvelous healing which they them- 
selves had not witnessed. It was remarkable how many 
of those they talked with were almost as strongly per- 
suaded as was Cyril himself that the kingdom of David 
for which they were longing was at hand. So the hours 
went by as they walked on along the shady highway 
toward the little walled town of Nain. 

As they drew near the town they were compelled to 
pause, for a number of people came slowly and mourn- 
fully walking through the open gate. 

It was a funeral procession, and as it drew near enough 
both Cyril and Lois could hear the talk of those who 

113 


114 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


came on in advance. The dead man was the only son of 
his mother, and she was a widow. 

The mother closely followed the bearers, but she was 
silent amid the noisy wailing of other mourners. Of 
these some were professionals, such as mourned for hire 
at the funerals of that day j but more were friends and 
neighbors, and their cries were a genuine testimony of 
their grief and their sympathy. 

The mother was no longer young. She seemed pitifully 
withered and old and feeble, as she tottered along the 
way, out from the gate of Nain. 

If her son had been only sick,” said Lois, the Master 
would have cured him. But look, Cyril! What is he 
going to do?” 

At that moment the pent-up sorrow of the widowed 
mother burst forth in passionate weeping. The throng 
which had followed the Master had paused out of respect 
for the funeral procession, but he himself had not paused. 
Now he stood so near the mother that her sobbing seemed 
an appeal to him, although she spoke no words nor ad- 
dressed him in any way. 

“ Weep not,” he said, and the tone with which he spoke 
seemed a kindly command ; and as he spoke he turned 
from her and stepped close to the bier. 

^‘He will be defiled!” exclaimed a low voice behind 
Cyril. A rabbi must not touch the dead ! But I have 
done with him. He does not teach the Law.” 

Cyril turned, and saw Ben Nassur standing among the 


THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN 


115 


disciples. He had walked many miles the day before, 
from Cana, to hear the Sermon on the Mount. Ben Nas- 
sur himself even withdrew yet farther, although he was 
already at a safe distance. 

The face of the sorrowing mother was bent low above 
the white cloth which covered the body on the bier. The 
Master had touched the bier, as if bidding the bearers to 
halt, and they at once halted and lowered it. 

The throng stood still, as if turned to stone. There was 
a moment of silence, and then the voice of the Master was 
heard : 

Young man, I say unto thee. Arise.” 

The form upon the bier arose to a sitting posture. 

Mother!” came from the son’s lips; but beyond one 
sob she could make no sound. 

A great fear fell upon all who saw or heard, and the 
mother’s face, too, was white with awe, but not with the 
dread that came to the others. She stood with her arms 
outreaching, in a terrified doubt if indeed her son were 
coming back. She was understood, for now the risen man 
was on his feet, and the Master led him to his mother. In 
the crowd, though they were still stricken with wonder, 
some began to rejoice, and there arose a triumphant 
voice crying: 

‘‘‘ A great prophet has risen among us ! ” 

Then, like a response, from the men of Nain came back 
another cry of joy: 

God has visited his people ! ” 



116 THE SWOKDMAKER’S SON ^ 

But the mother and her son, with their immediate 
friends, hastened into the' city.^ 

I shall go back to C^na,” e^sclaimed Ben Nassur. It 
is time the very chief priests and doctors at Jerusalem 
should take some action* concerning this man whom the 
people follow. Nobody will know what to believe.’^ 

I feel so glad for that poor mother,” exclaimed Lois. 

If only father could have been there ! ” 

If he does not come soon,” replied Cyril, “ I must seek 
for him.” 

‘^But now we are to return to Capernaum,” Lois 
reminded him. 

“We have fully twenty miles to go,” said Cyril, “per- 
haps morep but we can go by way of Nazareth.” 

But, after some discussion of the routes, she and Cyril 
took the shorter road that went toward the lake, several 
miles east of the place where the youth of Jesus was 
passed. 

They reached Capernaum on the following day, and 
Cyril went at once to his work among the boats and nets, 
while Lois returned to her needlework. 

They were the first to bring to Capernaum the story of 
the widow's son at Nain. 

Both Cyril and Lois were eager to be always with the 
Teacher, although they fully understood and expected 
that before long he would be once more in Capernaum. 
If, however, they could have been with him only a few 
days after they left him at Nam, they might have wit- 



“LOIS RETURNED TO HER NEEDLE-WORK 








THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN 


119 


nessed one result of the conference at the door of John’s 
dungeon in the Black Castle. 

All days were not alike in the work of the Master, so 
far as men could see or understand it. There were days 
when he seemed almost seeking to escape from his task, 
as if it overburdened him j and there were many nights 
when he went away by himself to lonely places for prayer 
or meditation. There seemed, however, to be days of spe- 
cial power, and one of these came at this time. The crowd 
was dense around him j the sick and afflicted were many, 
and he healed them. He spoke to the throngs that 
followed him. 

Standing among those who crowded about were three 
men, strangers to thC)se around them. They were sun- 
burned, ascetic-looking men, thin as if with fasting, and 
their sandals were worn with much travel. They had on 
the coarse garments worn by the Zealots of the Judean 
wilderness, hermit-like men whom most of the Jewish 
people held in great respect. 

These listened and watched hour after hour, until at 
last one of them stepped directly in front of the Master 
and seemed about to speak. 

It was by no means uncommon for men to ask ques- 
tions, and his answers were always listened for with eager 
interest 5 and there was a silence, for the manner of Jesus 
was as if he had said to the stranger, Speak.” 

“John sent us unto thee,” said the inquirer, “bidding 
us ask of thee. Art thou he that should come, or do we 
look for another ? ” 


120 


THE SWORDMAKER'S SON 


This questioD, like an undertone, was heard in all the 
talk concerning the Prophet of Nazareth. It was in 
another form Cyril’s question about the Captain. 

^‘Go/’ said the Master, ‘‘and shew John again those 
things which you do hear and see: The blind receive 
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor 
have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, 
whosoever shall not be offended in me.” 

The questioner bowed low and turned away, followed 
by his companions. No man hindered them ; but as they 
passed beyond the border of the crowd that still was 
pressing toward the Teacher, one of them stood still and 
said to the others : “ Go ye to Macheerus. Bear ye his 
message to John. It is yours to bear, not mine. I go to 
Capernaum. Yet I think you will see me again, not many 
days hence.” 

So they parted, and Ezra the Swordmaker turned his 
steps toward the north. 


CHAPTER XVI 


EZRA’S WITHERED HAND 


HE next day, the Sabbath, was memorable in Caper- 



i naum. When the morning came it seemed as if the 
city awoke in a great fever of excitement and expecta- 
tion. The Prophet of Nazareth was known to have re- 
turned, and he was to preach at the synagogue. All 
through the town, too, there were sick people from the 
country around, and even from far away, who had been 
brought there to be healed. Not that they thought that 
anything could be done for them upon the Sabbath. 
Those who were suffering must suffer one day more, and 
those who were about to die must be left ,to die. They 
were utterly sincere, for thousands of Jews had fallen by 
the swords of their enemies rather than break the law of 
the Sabbath, as they understood it. 

So far as attendance upon religious services was con- 
cerned, Cyril was now regarded as a man. He could go 
to the synagogue, like his elders, and find a seat where he 
would, so long as he did not take one of those reserved 
for dignitaries. Lois also could go, but not with her 
brother. She and all other women went by unfrequented 


121 


122 THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 

streets, so far as possible, and might greet no one by the 
way. On reaching the threshold of the synagogue all had 
to take off their sandals. 

The separate place for women in the synagogue of Ca- 
pernaum was raised like a gallery above the main floor 
where the men sat. Prom this gallery, at the beginning 
of the services, Lois was looking down through the lattice 
which prevented the women from being seen. 

The Teacher occupied a seat in front, facing the rest, 
and Lois could see that many of those who were present 
were intently watching him. 

There is Ben Nassur,” she said to herself, as she caught 
sight of the rabbi. ^‘He has come all the way from 
Cana.” 

Perhaps he had come because of his great zeal for the 
Law j for he and other wise and learned rabbis of the sect 
of the Pharisees had been of late greatly disturbed by 
what they had heard concerning some of the doings and 
teachings of the Prophet of Nazareth. They thought 
him too bold ; and some of the things he had said sounded 
new. They were such teachings as had never yet received 
the approval of the scribes, the chief priests, or the rabbis. 

‘‘ There is Cyril just behind Isaac,” thought Lois j and 
then suddenly her heart gave a great leap, and her face 
turned as pale as ashes. 

It is father ! ” she said, but not aloud, almost rising 
from her seat ; he has touched Cyril.” 

Cyril at that moment turned, but the synagogue was 


WIN THOU, APOLLOS! 








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EZRA'S WITHERED HAND 


123 


not the place for greetings. Besides, the swordmaker’s 
left hand on his shoulder seemed to he pressing him down 
into silence, as Jesus of Nazareth arose to read, from the 
scriptures handed him, the appointed lesson of the day. 
He read the written word, hut he was also reading the 
thoughts of the watchful, suspicious Pharisees before 
him. He saw Ben Nassur turn and stare at Ezra and at 
the withered hand which the swordmaker at last held up 
as if inviting the attention of the Master. Many saw the 
gesture, and a kind of mute question passed from face to 
face: ‘^Will he heal on the Sahhath?” Very different 
was the thought of Lois : Father has come. I wish I 
could ask the Master to heal his hand.” 

Cyril said nothing. He seemed to himself not even to 
he thinking, hardly to he breathing. 

“ How eager Cyril looks ! ” thought Lois. “ And father! 
Will the Master answer them ? ” 

She, too, was now gazing at the Master, with all her 
heart in her eyes, while Isaac was putting out a hand as 
if to restrain Ezra, at the moment when the voice of Jesus 
rang through the synagogue : Stand forth.” 

Forward strode the brawny swordmaker, and there he 
stood, fixing his eyes upon those of the man he had come 
so far and dared so much to see. Lois thought she had 
never seen a nohler-looking man than her father, nor a 
handsomer youth than her brother. Cyril also had started 
forward; but he had paused, and was now a few steps 
behind Ezra, his young face all ablaze and his lips parted 


7 


124 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


in eager expectation. The countenance of the Master did 
not wear its usual expression. 

He glanced from one to another of those who, with Ben 
Nassur, were waiting, so full of ready condemnation, to 
see what he would do, and then he asked : 

“ Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do 
evil? to save life, or to kill?^’ 

No voice responded to the Master^s question. 

It was easy to see that the Pharisees were very angry, 
but not with the kind of anger, that was more like sor- 
row, glowing in the face of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Stretch forth thine hand,” he said to Ezra the Sword- 
maker. 

Out went the sinewy arm to its full length, while a 
strong shuddering shook the frame of its owner. He 
obeyed promptly, instantly, vigorously, like a soldier 
obeying his captain ; but, as he did so, every sinew and 
fiber of arm and hand was tingling, and the veins in 
which no blood had freely coursed for long and heart-sore 
years were throbbing full again. 

It is restored whole as the other ! ” gasped Cyril, as 
his father lifted that right hand toward heaven before the 
congregation. 

Shouts arose, and there were many who glorified God j 
but Ben Nassur and the Pharisees arose and stalked out 
of the synagogue. 

The people are with him here,” ^aid Isaac to his zeal- 
ous friends. ^^All the rabble believe he is a prophet. 


IT IS RESTORED WHOLE AS THE OTHER,’ GASPED CYRIL. 






* s!' 






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EZRA^S WITHERED HAND 


127 


Even the centurion in command of the garrison is his 
friend. We must go and take counsel. He has broken 
the Sabbath ! He claims to be above the Law. It is 
Beelzebub that helps him.” 

Herod is at Machaerus, but all his friends here wiU 
unite to crush a man who talks of a new kingdom,” said 
another. 

Cyril heard, for he had been swept along a little dis- 
tance by the crowd, all the more helplessly because he 
had been trying to keep his eyes upon his father, still 
standing at the front of the synagogue and gazing at the 
Teacher. 

The latter was again speaking, and now in all directions 
the friends of the sick were hurrying away to bring them 
forth for healing. Not for Ezra alone had the bondage 
of the Pharisees been removed forever from the uses of 
the Sabbath. 

I must speak to my father,” exclaimed Lois to a friend, 
as she left the synagogue. “ I am so thankful ! There 
he is!” 

My son,” the swordmaker was saying at that moment, 
I have seen him. Yes, he is the King ! He is come ! 
So they carried word to John in his prison. The time is 
near at hand.” 

Didst thou speak to him ? ” asked Cyril. 

I did speak,” returned Ezra, his dark eyes glancing 
with glad light, and his renewed hand moving its firm, 
strong fingers, as if to do so gave him the keenest plea- 


128 


THE SWORDMAKER^S SON 


sure. ^^But what I said I know not, only that he an- 
swered me, ^ A little while.^ 

“ A little while “? Cyril asked eagerly. 

But I cannot wait here,” said Ezra ; I must see Lois, 
and then I must depart. Thou must abide here for a sea- 
son, to be near him ; and I will tell thee where to find 
me. Seest thou that hand?” 

“ It is as strong as ever,” said Cyril, joyfully. 

“ Strong for the forge ! ” exclaimed Ezra. Full many 
a blade must pass under the hammer before we can arm 
that first legion of our King, which is to capture the great 
storehouse of Roman weapons in Herod^s tower at Jeru- 
salem. But first I must go and show that hand as a wit- 
ness to those in the wilderness of Judea who wait for the 
kingdom.” 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE GREAT DRAUGHT OF FISHES 


WG were the conferences that Sabbath day between 



1 J Ezra and his children, for they talked until late in 
the evening. 

Ezra had much to relate of all that he had seen and 
done since he and Cyril parted on the slope of Mount Gil- 
boa. Cyril and Lois, on the other hand, had endless ques- 
tions to ask, concerning not only the past, but the future. 
But Ezra^s deepest interest was in what they had to tell 
him concerning Jesus of Nazareth. 

“ He is the true Son of David,” Ezra at last exclaimed. 

Cyril, thou wilt follow him. I trust that thou wilt yet 
be a captain in his army. He said to me, ^It is but a 
little while.^ We must be ready. I am thankful that my 
own hand can once more swing the hammer and draw the 
sword ! Thou art grown tall and strong ; and thou hast 
studied the Roman legions. Thou wilt yet throw a pilum 
as far as Pontius himself, but thou hast yet to learn to 
put a legion in line, and thou knowest little about the 
handling of a shield.” 

“I have practised with a wooden shield,” said Cyril. 


129 


132 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


on the grassy slope, down to the gravel of the shore, 
could both hear and see. 

Parable after parable was told, like so many pictures 
painted in words. 

At length the discourse was at an end, and the Master 
spoke to Simon the fisherman : 

Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for 
a draught.” 

Master,” replied Simon, “ we have toiled all the night, 
and have taken nothing j nevertheless, at thy word I will 
let down the net.” 

The Master sat silently at the stern of the boat while 
the fishermen made their cast. It was a large, heavy net, 
that required three or four men to handle it. No wonder 
even strong men should grow weary casting such a net 
as that, and dragging it back empty through the water. 
There came a shout from the boat, the moment after the 
net was thrown, and then another. 

“ Lois,” exclaimed Cyril, “ it is so full they cannot pull 
it in ! Father, let us get John’s boat ! It belongs to him 
and James. Quick ! ” 

Simon and the rest were already beckoning and calling, 
and the second boat started as if of itself, so prompt and 
vigorous were the hands that sent it from the shore. 

All the people along the shore could now see that the 
great net was actually breaking with its multitude of 
fishes, and the fishermen of both parties were lifting out 
the catch with their hands. 


THE GREAT DRAUGHT OF FISHES 


133 


“ This boat can carry no more/^ said Cyril, a few minutes 
later. She is deep in the water now.’^ 

Simon, in the other boat, fell upon his knees before the 
Master, saying: Depart from me; for I am a sinful 
man, O Lord ! ” 

The others looked on in astonished silence, but the 
answer was heard by all : 

Fear not ; for henceforth thou shalt catch men.” 

The boats were pulled to the shore, towing the net with 
the fishes that remained in it ; but when it got there the 
catch had to be cared for by others, for Simon and An- 
drew and John and James, and the rest who were of the 
Twelve, seemed to care no more for boats or nets or fish. 
They at once left all behind them, and walked away with 
Jesus into Capernaum. 

It was late that evening when Ezra and his son stood 
face to face in a lonely, rocky place, a mile or so south of 
Capernaum. 

think they have already ordered my arrest,” said 
Ezra. Once in prison, I should never be released. They 
might send me to the galleys, for they need strong 
rowers and care little whence they come.” 

^^We shall drive them all out some day,” said Cyril, 
bitterly. They treat us worse than if we were dogs.” 

Our day is coming,” replied Ezra. I shall be ready, 
whether it be sooner or later. Be thou also ready, and 
leave the day and the hour to the Leader. A soldier 
must wait for orders.” 


134 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


They bade each other farewell, and Ezra disappeared 
among the rocks and shadowy trees, while his son turned 
toward Capernaum. The boy’s heart was hot and angry, 
full of hatred for the men who were ready to slay his 
father, and, indeed, were oppressing his entire people. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE STORM THAT WAS CALMED 

T here were long intervals wlien even the friends of 
Jesus in Capernaum, which they regarded as his 
home, had but uncertain information as to what precise 
part of the country he was visiting. News of his intended 
return at any time, however, was sure to come well in 
advance of his arrival. There came a day when such an 
announcement had been bringing into the town crowds 
of people. Some of them had come at a venture from 
long distances. It was a day for suspending ordinary 
work and trade ; but it was more than ever manifest that 
the enemies and detractors of Jesus were bitter and busy. 
Of these, the more active, if not the greater number, were 
men who, like Ben Nassur, were in the habit of speaking 
with something of authority. They had been greatly en- 
couraged by assurances coming from Jerusalem that the 
prophet of Nazareth was not recognized by the learned 
doctors, the priests, and dignitaries of the Holy City. 

The crowd began to gather early at the shore of the 
lake, and Jesus was already there to heal the sick, and to 
put into the minds of men, even those who came out of 

135 


136 


THE SWOEDMAKEE’S SON 


mere curiosity, such parables as could not easily be for- 
gotten. 

Greater grew the throng, and it pressed him more and 
more closely. There was no means for compelling order 
or forbearance. Friends and enemies alike jostled one 
another for the nearest places. If there was a kind of lull 
at noon, it was only that the struggle might begin again 
soon afterwards. 

Lois listened until weariness overcame her, but only 
once did she come near enough to see the Masters face. 
Cyril, too, was there, and late in the day, Simon Peter, 
standing near the Master, saw the boy in the crowd and 
beckoned to him. 

Go thou,” said Simon, speaking low to Cyril, and get 
my boat. Have it ready at the shore. The Master will 
cross to the other side. They press upon him.” 

Away went Cyril, glad indeed of such an errand, for it 
seemed like a beginning of service to the Master. As for 
the boat, he knew where it lay. It would have been too 
heavy for him to manage in the open lake, but he could 
loosen its fastenings and slowly scull it along until he 
reached a place opposite the little point to which Jesus 
and his disciples were making their way, hampered by 
the eager multitude. 

It was growing late, but the Teacher could hardly have 
retreated into Capernaum. It would have been of little 
use to have sought rest or retirement in any house. So 
it was really as to a kind of refuge that he stepped into 


THE STOEM THAT WAS CALMED 


137 


the boat when it was sculled to the shore. He was at once 
followed by certain of his disciples, and they promptly 
took the oars. 

The day^s work was done, both its healing and its 
preaching, and the boat went swiftly over the water. 

The Master was in sore need of rest, after so long a toil, 
and before many minutes, Cyril heard one of those in the 
boat whisper to another : 

See j he sleeps.^^ 

How tired he must have been ! was the other^s reply. 

The gentle motion of the boat, rising and falling over 
wave after wave, had caused the Master to fall asleep, and 
he lay on a pallet-cushion in the stern. 

It was the first time that Cyril had seen the Master^s 
face when it was at rest. Cyril had always seen him 
either speaking or listening to others, or intent upon some 
happening. 

The face was uncovered only for a moment, for one of 
the disciples gently spread out a scarf to protect it from 
the fiying spray carried on the wind, which was rising 
fast. It was one of the sudden storms so common on the 
Sea of Gennesaret, which were so dangerous to the light 
fishing-craft, as well as to the gaudy pleasure-boats of the 
dwellers in the palaces along the shore. Fierce hurricanes 
would at times sweep down upon the little sea, almost 
without notice, and dash its surface into foaming billows 
as difficult to deal with as those of the great seas. 

On toiled the rowers, but they made slow headway j 


138 


THE SWOKDMAKEE’S SON 


and manifestly the storm was increasing. The creaking 
of the oars, the crash of the waves, the roar of the tempest, 
the shouts of the frightened crew made no impression 
upon the over-wearied sleeper at the stern of the boat. 

He slept soundly even when the waters came surging 
in over the gunwales, and the oarsmen were almost hurled 
from their seats. 

Cyril was not rowing, and he had therefore perched 
himself at the prow, where he could look back upon all in 
the boat. He could make out only terrified faces dimly 
visible between blinding drifts of sea-spray. 

Master ! ” he heard shouted loudly by one of the dis- 
ciples, and then he saw another actually seizing the 
sleeper’s hand to awaken him, while he exclaimed : 

Lord, save us : we perish ! ” 

The sea was pouring into the boat, and it seemed all too 
late for any power to oppose that tempest. 

We shall surely go down ! ” thought Cyril ; but he saw 
the awakened Master arise and look calmly around upon 
the tossing water. 

Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little faith ? ” he said to 
the disciples. 

Then Jesus seemed to rebuke the winds and the sea, 
and there was a great calm. No man among those in the 
boat said a word to the Master as they took to their oars 
and pulled awayj but Cyril heard them murmur, rev- 
erently, astonished, to one another ; What manner of 
man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him ! ” 













“CYRIL SAT BY THE BOAT FOR A WHILE 




THE STOKM THAT WAS CALMED 


141 


The night was far spent when the boat touched the 
shore on the easterly side of the lake. It had been a night 
of great apparent peril, and such was the wonder at the 
Master’s power that all on board were thoughtful and si- 
lent. Hardly a word was spoken now, as they one by one 
stepped ashore. The Master himself was evidently re- 
covered from his great fatigue, and he led the way up the 
sloping shore, followed by his disciples. 

Thou canst put up the light sail safely,” said Simon 
Peter to Cyril. Therefore take thou the boat back to 
Capernaum. We can obtain another if we need one.” 

So he walked away, and Cyril prepared to do as he was 
bidden, but he sat by the boat for a while, trying to recall 
the picture of the hurricane in the night, the terrified dis- 
ciples, the half -filled boat, and the Master speaking to the 
waves and rebuking the fierce gusts of the storm. 

The idea was taking shape in Cyril’s mind, although he 
was hardly conscious of this, that he whom even the ele- 
ments obeyed was something more than man. 

Cyril put up the sail. It was small, and it could be used 
to advantage only when the wind was favorable. There 
was so little wind that not only was there no danger, but 
hour after hour went by tediously while the boat fioated 
homeward, hardly leaving a ripple in her wake. 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE RABBITS CURSE 


lOTHER summer had passed, and the pleasant au- 



tumn weather had arrived. With it had come 
abundant crops for those who raised them, but there was 
little profit to the landholders, because of the excessive 
taxes and other exactions which their oppressors laid 
upon them. 

As for the Prophet, the Teacher, the Man of Nazareth, 
the Roman officers and the servants of Herod were not 
disturbed about him. There was no danger to the Romans 
from him, for, month after month, he devoted himself to 
healing the sick and to preaching. There was not so much 
as a sword or a shield displayed among all who followed 
him. 

The Jewish rulers, priests, and scribes, however, felt 
differently ; for even the most learned rabbis understood 
that their influence over the people was lessening. Here 
was one, they had learned, who in all his teachings hardly 
ever quoted from any rabbi, but spoke as if he himself 
were the only authority required, except when he referred 
to the Scriptures themselves, the books of the Prophets, 


142 


THE RABBPS CURSE 


143 


or the Psalms of David. John the Baptizer had done the 
same, in part, for he had denounced even the highest 
Pharisees. John was now safely shut up in the Black 
Castle ; but what was to be done with this man, who did 
not scruple to compare the Pharisees to vipers ! 

These men were growing more bitter and more threaten- 
ing every day ; and each new exhibition of power seemed 
only to harden their hearts against the Man of Nazareth, 
because it increased his influence over the people. 

Cyril was beginning to be impatient for the restoration 
of the kingdom of David, and he grew more and more 
dissatisfled and restless until, one evening, he came to 
Lois, at Abigail's, with a determined look on his face. 
He had said but a few words before he suddenly declared : 

“ I mean to go to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Taber- 
nacles.” 

He may have expected her to be surprised, but a pleased 
light sprang into her face, and she was silent for a mo- 
ment. Then she replied with cordial sympathy : 

did not tell thee, but I had thought of it — for thee, 
not for me. I have thought thou mightest And father. 
He would be so glad, and so wouldst thou.” 

I have saved money enough,” Cyril said. 

Thou wilt need it all,” said Lois, thoughtfully ; “ but 
r have made thee a good new abba, out of some cloth 
Abigail gave to me. Thou canst buy thee a new tunic. 
I hen thou wilt not look like a beggar, on the way or in 
the city.” 


144 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Cyril thanked his sister, but she had given more thought 
to his personal appearance than had Cyril himself. He 
told her, when she showed him the new abba, that the 
only change of costume he really longed to make was to 
change his turban for a helmet, and his tunic for a coat 
of mail. 

I saw father in armor once,’’ exclaimed Lois, when I 
was a little girl. It was like a Roman centurion’s, and I 
thought he looked so brave ! I am glad he was a warrior, 
but I hope thou wilt not have to put on mail. Father 
would be as good a soldier as any Roman, now his right 
hand is whole. But thou wilt be prudent, Cyril ? Thou 
wilt not do anything foolish? Thou wilt come back safe 
from Jerusalem ? ” 

“ Many go safely every year,” said Cyril, reassuringly. 
“But I shall find father — I know I shall — and I must 
do as he says. A host of Galileans will attend the feast 
this year.” 

The large number of visitors to Jerusalem was because 
of the excellent harvests, for the Feast of the Tabernacles 
among the Jews somewhat corresponded in character to 
the American Thanksgiving Day. It came earlier, be- 
cause the season in Palestine is earlier. It was celebrated 
in October, after all the principal crops had been gathered 
in the colder hill country as well as in the warm an^' 
fertile valleys. 

Simple were the preparations required by Cyril, a har(iy 
fisher-boy. With new sandals, robe, and tunic, and wi h 


THE RABBFS CURSE 


145 


more than ten shekels, in varied coin, hoarded for his 
traveling expenses, he was well equipped. He did not 
need to leave money with Lois, for she was prospering. 
She was justly proud of the praises lavished upon her 
embroidery, and she had been entrusted even with the 
decoration of a costly scarf ordered by a Roman lady. 

It was painful when the time for parting came for Lois 
to say farewell to her brother. She controlled herself, 
however, and made him promise to return as soon as he 
could, bringing with him a full account of all that he 
should see or hear in Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem was the center of the world, almost of heaven 
and earth, to the Jews, and from all corners of the known 
world there came to it pilgrims who had heard of its 
beauty and splendor. 

Cyril decided to travel by way of Cana and of Naza- 
reth. Beyond that, southerly, he did not intend to pass 
nearer the city of Samaria than he could help. Lois had 
argued that her brother would be safer and his journey 
pleasanter in company with the party of his friends and 
kinsfolk, of which Rabbi Isaac Ben Nassur would be the 
head. In this Lois proved to be mistaken. 

Cyril did indeed reach Cana, walking cheerfully all the 
way and not spending a denary. He did not need to pay 
out anything for refreshments by the way, when such 
delicious figs and grapes could be had abundantly, either 
for the asking, or wherever the ripened fruit hung out be- 
yond a boundary wall. Such was the Jewish custom. 


146 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


and Cyril also looked forward to a hearty and hospitable 
welcome at Cana. 

He would have been welcomed in some of the houses, 
for instance in that of Nathanael j but Cyril went to the 
wrong door. It was the same which had opened to him 
so freely during the wedding feast, after his escape from 
Samaria and his exploit at the crossing of the Kishon. 
Both of those happenings had made him doubly welcome 
then, but latterly he had been doing that of which Ben 
Nassur disapproved. Cyril had been much with the Man 
of Nazareth, and Rabbi Ben Nassur was offended. 

Cyril did not think of this as he walked up the sloping 
street toward the house of the rabbi. 

There was the well, unchanged, and there, close by it, 
stood the six great water-jars of stone, just as they had 
been on the day of the wedding. One of them was full, 
and Cyril paused to wash, preparatory to presenting him- 
self at the house. 

Cyril, my son ! ” 

It was the voice of old Hannah, Ben Nassur^s wife, and 
Cyril turned suddenly to greet her, hardly noticing the 
frightened tone in which she spoke. 

Her look and manner were by no means unkindly, but 
she cried, Gro not into the house, Cyril, or Isaac will curse 
thee ! He will not permit any follower of Jesus of Naza- 
reth to enter. One such was here the other day.^^ 

He did not forbid him to come in ! ” exclaimed Cyril. 

Who was it ? ” 


THE RABBI’S CURSE 


147 


“ I know not his name,” she said. A short, spare man. 
He crossed the threshold, and as he did so he said, ‘ Peace 
he unto this house, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^ ” 

^^And did Isaac — ” began Cyril, but Hannah inter- 
rupted : 

^^Do not thou ask what he said, for his words were 
cruel. And the disciple of J esus did but take off his san- 
dals and strike them against the doorpost, saying some- 
thing I did not hear. He went away to NathanaePs house, 
but Isaac will not speak of him.” 

Get thee hence ! ” 

Angry, fierce, threatening were the words that came 
from the porch of Ben NassuPs house at that moment. 
Under the vines from which the purple clusters had so 
recently been gathered stood the tall, dignified form of 
the rabbi. Cyril had never before seen him so well dressed, 
for his robe was new and embroidered, his tallith also was 
new and fine, and on his head was a spotless turban of 
fine linen. He was evidently more prosperous than for- 
merly, and he had more than ever the air of authority 
which of right belonged to the wisest, most learned man 
in Cana. 

It had recently been asserted, also, that Ben Nassur 
was more learned in the Law than any rabbi in Nazareth, 
and it was said by some that he had greatly strengthened 
the Nazarenes in their zeal against their law-breaking fel- 
low townsmen. Jesus could not now have found a safe 
home in Nazareth, neither could his boy follower be ad- 


148 


THE SWOEDMAKER^S SON 


mitted to the house of his learned kinsman. It did not 
soften Ben Nassur even when Hannah explained to her 
husband that Cyril was on his way to Jerusalem to attend 
the Feast of Tabernacles, in compliance with the Law. 
Peace had departed from that house, so far as the new 
Teacher and his disciples were concerned, and terrible 
indeed were the words quoted in Hebrew from the old 
Scriptures, which Ben Nassur hurled at Cyril. 

Cyril was really frightened, for the swordmakePs son 
had been brought up with deep reverence for all rabbis, 
and especially for Ben Nassur. He regarded him as a 
great authority in all matters of religion and the law, and 
the curse of such a dignitary was a thing to be feared 
exceedingly. It made the young traveler, a moment be- 
fore so joyous and so hopeful, stand pale and trembling 
by the well before the house he might not enter. He was 
as one cast out by his kindred ; for such a curse would 
be known, soon, to all the family connection, near and 
far, and such of them as reverenced the rabbi would 
refuse to receive Cyril. 

Jesus of Nazareth hath despised the Law!” shouted 
Ben Nassur. He hath defied the priests of his people. 
He hath denounced the chief scribes and rulers. He hath 
denied the teachings of the, rabbis. Get thee hence ! thou 
art no longer of my kinsmen. Thou art of the disciples 
of the Nazarene 1 ” 

The rabbi was vehement in his wrath, but Cyril sud- 
denly remembered something that he had hardly noticed 



THE RABBI DENOUNCES CYRIL. “‘GET THEE HENCE! THOU ART NO 

LONGER OF MY KINSMEN!”’ 







THE RABBrS CURSE 


151 


at the time it occurred. It had been Ben Nassur himself 
who would have openly forbidden Jesus to restore the 
hand of Ezra, on the Sabbath, in the synagogue of Caper- 
naum. His mandate had been openly ignored by the 
Master, and there might be therefore a personal bitterness 
in Isaac^s denunciation. 

Cyril raised his head and felt as if he were growing 
stronger. 

“Do not answer him,” pleaded Hannah, hardly more 
than whispering. “ He is a good man. When thou seest 
the Man of Nazareth tell him we all love him for the good 
that he has done. Do not regard Isaac — ” 

But Cyrils blood was rising somewhat angrily, for Isaac 
was saying more while the young man waited, and his 
maledictions now included Ezra the Swordmaker and Lois 
and all the disciples and followers of the Master. 

“I must speak,” he said to Hannah, and he turned 
toward the porch. 

Very imposing, in dignity and authority, appeared the 
large form of the white-robed, white-turbaned rabbi, 
while his deep, sonorous voice was thundering his wrath. 

“Isaac Ben Nassur,” said Cyril, much more sturdily 
than he had thought he could speak to so great a man, 
“I go to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles. I go to 
the Temple, but I go not with thee. Seest thou these 
water-pots ? They witness against thee. So witnesseth 
the right hand of my father Ezra. Thou knowest that 
Jesus is the son of David, and I — the son of Ezra the 


152 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Swordmaker — I am of his disciples, even as thou hast 
said. I believe he is the king who is to redeem Israel. 
My father also believes in him.^^ 

Bitter and terrible were the Hebrew words of Ben Nas- 
sur as Cyril turned and strode down the street again. 
Hannah went into the house, weeping; but her young 
kinsman did not pause in his rapid walking until he was 
more than a mile beyond the gate of Cana. 

There he stood still for a moment, and looked back, as 
if in deep thought. Then he said aloud : 

“I will go on to Jerusalem alone. I do not need the 
company of Isaac and his Galileans. I will worship in the 
Temple, and I will offer my sacrifices. I will see my father. 
But on my way I will enter into no house nor sleep under 
any roof, lest it fall on me. I shall be safe from the curse 
of Isaac Ben Nassur and the Law after I have offered 
my lamb on the altar of burnt offering.’^ 


CHAPTER XX 


THE TOWER IN SILOAM 

O NLY a few days after his parting with Hannah at 
the well in Cana, and on a brilliant October morn- 
ing, Cyril stood upon a mount from which he could look 
across the valley through which the brook Kedron runs, 
and see the white walls and the towers and the Temple 
of the holy city — Jerusalem. Around him on the hill 
were scattered groves of olive-trees. 

“No/’ he thought, “I will not go into the city now. I 
must find my father. I must eat at the Feast of the 
Tabernacles with him. I will go down into the valley of 
Jehoshaphat, and go to the southern side where is the 
road to the Cave of Adullam.” 

In the valley was a road which made the circuit of the 
city, following the course of the brook Kedron on that 
side. There was only just room, it seemed, for road and 
brook, so densely was the valley occupied by buildings, 
and by villas and the gardens of the great. It was a 
broad, perfectly kept driveway 5 and foot-passengers must 
make way for the splendid chariots which went sweeping 
by. There were horsemen also j and Cyril, as he walked, 

153 


154 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


saw several squadrons of cavalry. He was deeply inter- 
ested in a cohort of Roman legionaries whose polished 
arms and perfect drill surpassed anything of the kind he 
had ever seen. There was a more terrible attraction in a 
band of trained gladiators that were said to belong to 
Pontius Pilate. They were enormous men, physically, 
and were evidently selected from several different races. 

Cyril admired exceedingly the vast walls of the city, 
which arose above him on his right, as he went onward. 
It was plain that no enemy could so much as assail the 
battlements that frowned along the edge of the high cliff 
— Mount Moriah — that formed part of the site of the 
city. The entire area was a fort, with walls of its own 
separating it from the rest of the city, and the Temple 
itself was near the middle of it. 

Cyril walked on until he was far down the valley, south- 
east of the city, between the brook and the wall. 

Near what Cyril knew was the Pool of Siloam he saw 
many laborers at work. They seemed to be erecting a 
tower; and there was a great throng of people looking 
on. It seemed as if something more than the building 
had brought the people there, for near the parties of 
workmen were gathered throngs of Jews, talking loudly 
and gesticulating excitedly. When Cyril came nearer he 
learned the cause of their excitement. 

Pilate was really a man of ability, a statesman as well 
as soldier, or the Roman emperor would never have trusted 
him with the government of Judea. Pilate had found 


THE TOWER OF SILOAM 


155 


Jerusalem greatly in need of water, and had planned 
aqueducts 5 he had also decided that the Jews should pay 
for them. Other taxes not being sufficient, he had seized 
large sums of the treasures of the Temple, the contribu- 
tions made by pious Jews all over the world for the sup- 
port of the Temple worship. As a Roman and a heathen, 
he believed good water for the city more important than 
the Temple services. 

The entire Jewish people felt differently, however, and 
the rabbis declared Pilate^s project profane and sacrile- 
gious. So here they were looking on at the erection of 
the great bne of towers that were to support the aque- 
duct, bringing water from the hills to the city. 

Cyril, as he stood and looked at the great tower, heard 
the stentorian tones, furious in anger, of a voice he at 
once remembered. There indeed, as Cyril turned, he saw 
Ben Nassur cursing Pilate and his aqueduct, as so re- 
cently he had cursed his young kinsman at the well. 

The tower represented to Isaac the stolen treasures of 
the Temple, the plunder of the altar and the priesthood, 
and Pilate^s utter defiance of the rabbis. Even Cyril felt 
deeply that a heathen foreigner had no right to interfere 
in any manner with the Temple of God, and his sympa- 
thies for the moment were with his learned kinsman and 
the score or so of angry priests, rabbis, and scribes by 
whom he was surrounded. 

No attention whatever was paid to the prolonged elo- 
quence of Ben Nassur by the Roman architect or his 


156 


THE SWOEDMAKEE'S SON 


workmen. Perhaps not one of them understood his tor- 
rent of old Hebrew words. The architect, however, had 
been fatally at fault in excavating for the foundation of 
that tower. Down a little deeper than the picks and 
shovels of his workmen had gone there was a quicksand. 
Now, therefore, as the great stones of the tower were 
placed in series, tier on tier, the weight grew heavier and 
heavier, until it became too much for the crust of earth 
above the quicksand. On the side toward the valley the 
ground sloped, so that there was really nothing to sustain 
the enormous wall of stone. 

A loud cry sprang from Cyril as he looked, and Ben 
Nassur turned angrily toward him. 

See ! ’’ shouted Cyril. The tower ! It is tottering ! 

Pitching forward like a falling man, the tower that 
was to have stood for ages came crashing, thundering 
down ! 

There was a moment of awestruck silence, and then the 
multitude who saw uttered a kind of inarticulate roar, 
made up of innumerable exclamations j for it was the 
curse of Rabbi Isaac and the other rabbis, as many 
thought, which had brought down the tower of the Ro- 
mans. Buried under the fallen tower were a number of 
the officers and servants of Pontius Pilate. 

“ It is the vengeance of the Law ! ” shouted Ben Nas- 
sur, tossing his arms wildly ; but a detachment of soldiers 
which had been stationed there to guard the construction 
of the aqueduct, marched steadily forward with leveled 



“ THE TOWER CAME CRASHING, THUNDERING DOWN ! ” 





THE TOWER OF SILOAM 


159 


spears, and the multitude turned and fled before them. 
The fall of a tower could not shake the nerves of Roman 
legionaries, even if they had no idea of what caused its 
fall. At all events, now it was down the danger was over. 

Ben Nassur and Cyril had looked each other in the face 
for a moment ; but Cyril did not wdsh to have the rabbi 
speak to him again. On he went, therefore, down the 
valley and past the Pool of Siloam. He stood still for 
several minutes when he came to the place marked by a 
fort and tower where the valley of Jehoshaphat, along 
which the Kedron ran, was joined at the right by the long, 
deep, and dreadful valley of Hinnom. Away up that val- 
ley, at intervals, Cyril could see the smoke arising from 
the flres which were burning the refuse materials from 
the city and the Temple. ^^The fires of Gehenna!” he 
exclaimed. There they had burned through ages, never 
going out night or day. 

Cyril appeared to be searching for something as he 
walked along. 

That is the landmark,” he said at last, as he stood be- 
fore a tall stone pillar at the roadside. ^^The road to 
Bethlehem turns off there. I mean to go there, some day. 
It is the city of David, and Jesus of Nazareth was born 
there. Mary has told Lois and Abigail aU about the shep- 
herds and the angels and the wise men who came from 
the East.” Cyril plodded on steadily southward, being 
guided from time to time by some prominent landmark — 
rock, or hill, or tree, or running water — which his father 


160 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


had described, as a means whereby Cyril was to find his 
way to the Cave of Adullam. 

There was no general ‘‘ shop ” or salesroom in the house 
of Abigail the tallith-maker. There was, however, a front 
room where she received her customers, some of whom 
were people of rank, and a rear room where most of the 
varied needlework was done, and some kinds of weaving. 

Here sat Lois that long afternoon. She was at work 
upon an abba — the fiowiug outer robe of white linen, 
worn by Jews of good degree and fair circumstances. 
Though not embroidered nor ornamented, it was of pecu- 
liarly fine texture. 

I wish I knew whom it is for,” said Lois. I suppose 
for one of the rabbis.” 

So it is,” said a pleasant voice behind her j “ and thou 
mayest know, but thou must not tell others. Too many 
of the other rabbis oppose him, and it will not do for a 
working- worn an like me to make enemies.” 

Abigail,” exclaimed Lois, “ is it then for the Master % 
Have I worked for him ? ” 

A noble looking woman was Abigail, with closely folded 
masses of nearly white hair above her high forehead. 
Her face told of trouble which may have whitened her 
head before its timej but her smile and her eyes were 
very sweet in their expression as she answered : 

Salome and some other women brought the materials. 
It is for him to wear when he goes to Jerusalem to the 
next Passover. And there is something else. Come ! ” 


THE TOWER OF SILOAM 


161 


Lois put aside her work and followed Abigail into an- 
other room — a small one, at the right of the workroom. 
She could not have told why such a feeling of awe came 
over her as she watched the actions of her white-haired 
friend. A large box, covered and fastened, lay in a cor- 
ner of the room, and Abigail went and opened it. It con- 
tained many articles of apparel j but these were lifted 
out, and Abigail took from the very bottom of the box a 
light casket made of some odorous wood with which Lois 
was not familiar. 

Look,” she said, as she put back the lid of the casket. 

I need not take it out. It is his inner robe. It is woven 
without a seam. It is such as the high priests wear in 
the Temple at Jerusalem.” 

Where did it come from ? ” whispered Lois. 

Nobody must know,” said Abigail. One evening, 
not long ago, when there were neither stars nor any moon, 
I was called to the door, and a stranger handed me this. 
He was a tall, strong man, in a robe that covered him all 
over, and he had come on horseback, for his horse stood 
by him. ^This,^ he said, 4s for Jesus of Nazareth, who 
is called the Christ. Finish it thou, and keep it for him. 
He will be told that it is here.” 

Did you speak to him ? ” exclaimed Lois. 

^Who art thouT I asked,” said Abigail. “But he 
answered me : ‘ I am told that thou art discreet. I am 
from the wife of Chusa, Herod^s steward, and from the 
women who are with her. That is enough for thee to 


162 


THE SWORDMAKER^S SON 


know. They who made that garment for him dwell in 
the king^s house.^” 

^^Then Jesus has friends/^ said Lois, where nobody 
would think of seeking them. But what kind of man 
was the messenger?^’ 

“ It was too dark to see plainly,” said Abigail. “ I sup- 
pose he did not wish to be seen. There were scars on his 
face. He may have been one of Herod’s soldiers. I took 
the casket and he went away. Now I must wait until it 
is sent for.” 

There is no robe too fine for the Master,” said Lois, 
with reverence. I shall watch every stitch I take, now 
I know the abba is for him. But what a beautiful vesture 
this is ! From the ladies in the palace. It is fine wool, 
woven without a seam, and white as snow ! ” 


CHAPTER XXI 

CYRIL AND THE OUTLAWS 

T he sun was setting at the close of CyriPs somewhat 
anxious day^s pilgrimage. He had met no enemy 
since leaving Jerusalem, but he had met many strangers. 
Cyril had preferred not to make acquaintance with any, 
but at last he stood facing a man who was evidently de- 
termined to find out something about the young traveler 
before he would let him pass. The stranger was short 
and broad-shouldered, with a red face and a closely-curl- 
ing black beard. He commanded Cyril to halt. 

It was a place where, for a time, one strong man could 
have halted a dozen, or even a thousand. It was a mere 
shelf in the side of a great cliff. On CyriPs left was a 
precipice hanging above a gorge far below, through which 
a stream was running. On the right was the wall of rock, 
ledge above ledge — Cyril did not know how high. 

^‘Who art thou?^^ curtly and sternly demanded the 
stranger, gripping hard but not lifting the weapon in his 
hand. It was a Roman pilum or javelin, and must at 
some time have been carried by a legionary. 

There might have been danger to Cyril at that moment, 

9 163 


164 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


if he had not been warned against it by his father. He 
did not speak, but turned at once to the rock, and passed 
his forefinger along it as if writing. 

The face of the grim sentry of the pass brightened 
suddenly. 

Again I say, who art thou?” he asked, but nodding 
his head in a friendly manner. Canst thou write 
^Shallum^?” 

CyriPs finger moved along the wall, but he said aloud, 

Shallum, of the sons of Hezekiah, of Galilee — ” 

Amen ! ” shouted the sentry. Name ? ” 

Cyril, the son of Ezra the Swordmaker — ” 

“Amen!” almost roared Shallum in evident delight. 
“ I know thee now. Come on with me, and I will show 
thee thy father. Hast thou any news ? Tell us of Gali- 
lee. What is Jesus of Nazareth doing? Thy father saith 
thou hast been with him.” 

He had turned at once, and Cyril was now marching 
side by side with him along the shelf of rock. In his 
eager delight at meeting a friend and comrade of his 
father, Cyril was beginning to talk freely, but Shallum 
stopped him. 

“ Tell thy tale in the cave,” he said. “ I shall soon be 
there. Go on, now, and at the entrance thou needest no 
password but Shallum and Ezra. They will know thee.” 

The narrow path continued along the side of the rock, 
but there were places where it widened so that small par- 
ties of defenders could withstand an army. 



“ ‘ WHO ART THOU ? ’ ” 





CYEIL AND THE OUTLAWS 


167 


And now, just a little ahead, the path appeared to end 
in a kind of opening of the rock. 

^^That is where I shall he questioned again,” he was 
thinking, when a loud cry of pleasure seemed to sound 
from the rock itself. y 

My son — thou art here ! ” and then it was Ezra him- 
self who stepped out from another cleft and threw his 
strong arms around Cyril. 

A rapid exchange of questions and answers followed, 
and then, led by his father, the young adventurer found 
himself groping his way through a dark and seemingly 
intricate passage. 

Ezra put out his hand and pushed aside a kind of cur- 
tain j there was a glare of dull and smoky light, from 
cressets and torches and a forge-fire, and Cyril knew that 
he was in the outer chamber of the well-known cave. It 
was by no means regular in shape, but it was about sixty 
feet long and from thirty to forty feet in height. 

CyriPs first glance around him showed him several an- 
vils and quite an array of tools ; but what his father had 
told him had prepared him for that. He had not expected, 
however, to see so many men. 

They seemed to swarm from the rocky sides of the cave 
and out of the ground. So must the cave have looked in 
the days of David. He had had four hundred men with 
him, it was recorded, and Cyril soon discovered that there 
was plenty of room for even a larger band. 

Just now, none of them thought of David or Saul. No 


168 


THE SWORDMAKER'S SON 


doubt they had some means for learning the news of the 
day, but a traveler from Galilee, and straight from Jeru- 
salem that very day, was sure to bring them tidings 
eagerly desired. 

They were ready to listen, with breathless interest, to 
all that could be said about the Galilean prophet who was 
gaining so many followers, and who was of the royal line 
of Judah, descended from David, and whom even John 
the Baptizer had pointed out as the Anointed, who was 
to restore the Kingdom. 

Question followed question, and CyriVs answers became 
full and free as he acquired confidence, until at last a 
grim old graybeard remarked : 

Amen ! It is enough ! I am for this Prophet of Naza- 
reth. But the young man has traveled all day. He is 
tired out. Let him have food.” 

I will care for him,” said Ezra j and in a few moments 
more he and Cyril were alone together in another cave, 
into which Cyril followed his father, through a long, low 
burrow, on his hands and knees. It was like the other, 
somewhat, but here was no smithy. It was the sleeping- 
place and store-room. Cyril ate heartily and so did Ezra, 
and all the while the talk went on. While his father 
learned the news of Lois and of the doings in Galilee, 
Cyril was told about the cave and about the plans of Ezra. 
At last, however, somewhat reluctantly, Cyril told how 
Ben Nassur had cursed him, and then about the fall of 
the Roman tower near the Pool of Siloam. 


CYRIL AND THE OUTLAWS 


169 


Ezra was a follower of Jesus, but he was a Jew, zealous 
for the Law, and full of reverence for the rabbis and their 
teaching. He grew very grave as he heard, for he was 
by no means ready yet to cut loose from the traditions of 
his people. 

“Jesus is also a rabbi,” he remarked, after a long min- 
ute of thinking. “ He could tell us what to do. At all 
events we must go to the Temple, and offer a lamb for a 
trespass offering.” 

“ I have money enough to buy one,” said Cyril ; “ but 
can you venture into Jerusalem?” 

“ Safely enough,” said Ezra. “ Many of us cannot, but 
unless we meet some of our Samaritan enemies, to de- 
nounce us, we are in no danger. Especially during the 
days of the feast, I can safely go and come.” 

Cyril felt greatly relieved by the idea of offering a sacri- 
fice. He felt that it might entirely prevent the evil conse- 
quences of Ben Nassur^s terrible curse. Not that Cyril 
thought he had really broken the Law, but the rabbi had 
said he had, and Isaac, being a very learned man, might 
be right. 

“We will set out for the city to-morrow morning,” said 
Ezra, when they had finished their last cluster of grapes. 
“Now I will show you the rest of the cave.” 

Cyril’s curiosity was intensely excited, and he sprang 
to his feet. His father carried a torch and led the way. 
At the further end of that cave was an opening, and they 
had to climb upward a few feet to reach it. Then they 


170 


THE SWOEDMAKER'S SON 


followed a narrow cleft in the rock for a number of feet, 
and went down again five or six yards of steep descent, 
into a large underground chamber. It was a place for 
men to sleep in, but it was also used as an arsenal. All 
along the walls were stacked various kinds of weapons, 
among which were great numbers of bows and sheaves 
of arrows. 

‘‘The Romans took them from the Parthians,” said 
Ezra. “ Then the Parthians destroyed that detachment 
of Romans on their way home, but our tribes gathered 
the best of the spoils. Come ! I will show you some- 
thing more.” 

Through a curiously crooked passage Cyril was led 
into the fourth chamber of the cavej and into this he 
could not go very far, it was packed so full of arms and 
armor. 

“ Year after year has this been gathering,” said Ezra. 
“ There are other storehouses like it in other places. 
When the time comes for our people to rise against the 
Romans, we shall have something to fight with, in spite 
of all that Herod and Pilate have done to leave us de- 
fenseless. We capture new lots of weapons whenever 
we canj but we are never seen to bring any in this 
direction.” 

“ Thou and the other smiths are making new things all 
the while ? ” asked Cyril. 

“Not so,” said his father. “We can do better by re- 
pairing and keeping in good order all we have on hand. 


CYEIL AND THE OUTLAWS 


171 


That gives us work enough. But I have one piece of 
work that I will show you some day. Come out of the 
cave now, and rest. Most of us prefer to sleep in booths 
among the rocks, though there is always plenty of air in 
the caves.^’ 

It seemed a vast relief to get into the open air again 
after Cyril made his long way out ; for, in order to do so, 
he had to creep and grope and walk over five hundred 
feet through the cavern to the entrance on the ledge. 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE MASSACRE OF THE GALILEANS 

T he falling of the tower occasioned great excitement 
in Jerusalem. There were, indeed, two parties to the 
controversy. A large part of the resident population was 
strongly in favor of Pilate’s plan, and wanted the water 
brought in. On the other hand, pilgrims from a distance, 
come to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and more than 
usually filled with religious fervor, were not interested in 
an aqueduct which was never to benefit them. Foremost 
among these, and always the most daring and rebellious 
of the Jewish people, were the pilgrims from Galilee. 
They were certainly the most hated by the Romans, on 
account of their free speech and unsubdued spirit. They 
were now stirred up to fanatical violence by several other 
grievances, including the fact that Pilate kept a Roman 
garrison within the walls of the Temple area, and Roman 
sentries in the approaches to the Temple itself. It may 
have been only prudent for him to do so, but his soldiers 
carried their eagle standards with them. They were 
known to worship these, and therefore, they, as heathen, 
had taken idols into the sacred places. 

172 


THE MASSACRE OF THE GALILEANS 


173 


It was Pilate^s custom to come to his official residence 
— a kind of palace for public business — during all feasts, 
and he was there that day ; but he was in a very ugly 
frame of mind. Such men as Ben Nassur, aided by zeal- 
ots from other places, were arousing their followers more 
and more from hour to hour, until at last an angry multi- 
tude swarmed around the gates of Pilate’s house, cursing 
him in the name of the Law, and of the Temple. They 
demanded the restitution of the treasures taken from the 
priests j the cessation of the aqueduct work, which the 
fall of the tower so plainly declared to be wicked ; and they 
furiously demanded the removal of the Temple guards. 

The Roman governor had not the least idea of granting 
any of these demands, and he determined to teach the 
angry Galileans a lesson. He sent to his camp for a large 
number of soldiers. They were not to come in armor, 
but in ordinary clothing, and were to be armed only with 
clubs. Strong men can do a great deal of mischief with 
heavy cudgels, but Pilate’s idea was to express in this way 
his soldierly contempt for a Jewish mob. His men were 
ordered to surround it and to wait for such commands as 
he might give them. 

Of course it was late in the day before all this could be 
accomplished; but at a very early hour that morning, 
Ezra the Swordmaker and Cyril left the Cave of Adul- 
1am, and set out for the city. It was not yet noon when 
they passed through one of the southern gates of Jeru- 
salem, unnoticed by the silent guards in full armor. 


174 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


It was part of the caution of Ezra’s friends at the Cave 
that they should never be seen in large parties. He and 
his son were by themselves, therefore, when, shortly after 
passing the gate, they were informed of the great tumult 
at Pilate’s house. 

It is no place for us,” said Ezra. “ Thou and I have 
but one errand. We must offer our sin-offering, and get 
away.” 

Cyril’s fear of the rabbis and priests grew stronger as 
he drew near the Temple. There was no other place on 
earth, he believed, where a sacrifice to God could be of- 
fered as it could upon the brazen gold-ornamented altar 
of burnt-offering, which he and his father were soon to 
see. 

Louder and louder grew the sound of the tumult in 
the open space before the governor’s palace, but Cyril 
and his father could no longer hear it, for they were now 
in the outer court of the Temple. They advanced toward 
the steps leading up to the gorgeously-gilded portals of 
the inner court. Here they were met by a Levite to whom 
Ezra at once handed the fieecy offering which he had 
brought and had so far carried in his arms. During sev- 
eral minutes, however, there had been strange sounds 
beyond the gate of the outer court, and they were fast 
growing louder. Ezra and his son would have paused to 
listen, but the Levite led the way into the inner court, 
and they followed. In a moment more Cyril could see the 
smoking altar, the splendidly arrayed priests, the chant- 


THE MASSACRE OF THE GALILEANS 


175 


ing Levites, the swinging censers, and all the grand ap- 
pliances of the Temple worship. Everything was splendid 
beyond his imagination ; but he could not look at it for 
more than a moment. Behind him, surging through the 
gate into the outer court, filling that space, and then pour- 
ing on into the inner court, came a shouting, shrieking, 
maddened multitude. 

Pilate^s club-men had been doing their brutal work only 
too well, and, if his soldiers carried clubs only, other ene- 
mies of the Galileans (and they were many) had seized 
this opportunity, for steel blades were flashing among the 
pursuers. An angry mob were now pitilessly smiting 
down the Jews who had protested so zealously for the 
Temple and the Law. 

They did not pause at the gate of the inner court, but, 
in a moment more, there were slain Galileans lying among 
the carcasses of the animals prepared for sacrifice, and the 
revenge of Pilate upon those who had upbraided him was 
becoming terrible. The priests and other Temple officers 
were fleeing. 

Come,” said Ezra, in a low, fierce whisper, Follow 
me. We must escape now, that we may some day smite 
them.” 

There is Ben Nassur!” suddenly shouted Cyril. 

Father, help him ! He is down ! ” 

Bravely, indeed, had the burly rabbi turned upon a pur- 
suer who was close upon him with an uplifted simetar, 
but at that moment his foot slipped and he fell heavily 


176 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


backward. No genuine Roman soldier was near them, 
and Ezra caught up one of the heavy knives with which 
the Levites had been preparing beasts for the sacrifices. 

“ Thou son of Edom ! ” he shouted, as he sprang over 
the prostrate Isaac and struck down his fierce enemy. 

In a few moments his simetar, a very good weapon, was 
in the hands of Cyril himself. 

Onward,” said Ezra, but strike no man carrying a 
club. It is not safe. They are Romans. These other fel- 
lows are only Samaritans and Edomites — Herod’s own 
men, not Pilate’s.” 

It was a confused hurlyburly, but the Roman govern- 
or’s lesson to the Galileans had already been completely 
given, and a trumpet in the outer court was sounding the 
recall. All the soldiers obeyed like machines, not striking 
another blow. 

It had been Cyril’s first experience of actual fighting. 
At his father’s order he had reluctantly thrown away the 
captured sword, and they were making their way out with 
the motley crowd of people who were permitted to es- 
cape. No such bloody massacre had been intended by 
Pilate, and his Temple-guards were now actually serving 
as a police to prevent further slaughter. Not a few of 
his club-men had been badly hurt, and a number of the 
Herodian rabble had been slain, for the Galileans were 
brave men and had fought for their lives. One of them 
was now ruefully risen from among the bodies of men 
and animals which littered a spot in the inner court. 


THE MASSACRE OF THE GALILEANS 


177 


Isaac Ben Nassur the rabbi ! ” he exclaimed. “ Defiled 
by the blood of beasts and men, in the very Temple ! I 
shall be unclean for many days! I have touched the 
dead 1 My glory is departed I Woe is me I I am defiled ! ” 
He was full of sincere grief, but not, in the first place, 
for his slain or wounded neighbors and countrymen. 

As for Cyril and his father, they were safe now, and 
were hurrying toward the southern gate of the city. 

^‘Father,” said Cyril, ^^what had Ben Nassur and the 
others done that this should come upon them ? ” 

I know not/^ said Ezra, thoughtfully. It is written 
that we are punished for our transgressions, but I have 
seen the best men of Israel go down before the swords of 
the heathen. At least we have made an offering.’^ 

‘‘We brought the lamb,^^ said Cyril, “but we did not 
see it offered.” 

“ I am no rabbi,” said Ezra, sturdily. “ I cannot say 
whether or not that was enough. I do know that I have 
smitten Herod’s men and I have seen thee fighting them 
bravely. Thou wilt make a strong swordsman one of 
these days, but thou, art in need of practice. I will teach 
thee in the Cave.” 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE SWORD FOR THE KING 

T hose were lonely yet busy days for Lois at her em- 
broidery work, in the house of Abigail. Such news 
as came through the customers of her mistress, or from 
their neighbors in Capernaum, had almost a monotonous 
character. 

There was, of course, a great excitement when pilgrims 
returned from the Feast of Tabernacles to tell of the 
slaughter of so many Galileans by Pilate’s order. 

Still, a girl at her sewing could do no more than sorrow 
for all who had suffered. She and her people were ap- 
parently doomed to suffer oppression, generation after 
generation. 

How I wish Jesus were king now,” she often said to 
herself, ‘‘just as so many believe he is going to be. We 
should all live at peace, then.” 

The thoughts of a great many people were turning 
more and more toward Jesus of Nazareth. It was under- 
stood that the priests and scribes were more than ever 
opposed to him. Isaac Ben Nassur had returned to Cana 
in a most fanatical zeal for the Law, and all who agreed 

178 


THE SWORD FOR THE KING 


179 


with him were expected to denounce Jesus. Not all of 
them did so, by any means, for wherever Jesus went he 
was doing much good among the people. So were his 
disciples, of whom he was now said to have sent out, in 
various directions, not only the original twelve, but sev- 
enty more, to preach and to teach and to heal. 

But many longed for action against the Romans. The 
delay seemed hard to bear to the impatient patriots, who 
had made their headquarters at the Cave of Adullam. 
They had almost nothing to do except to hear what news 
they could get, and to talk about it. 

Ezra himself, and such as knew even a little of the ar- 
morer’s trade, had plenty of occupation; but even for 
them it was dull work to sharpen arrows, and polish bows, 
and fit spear-heads which might never be used in battle. 
Not a great many days after Cyril’s arrival, however, he 
and his father were alone together in the outer cave — the 
smithy. It was the first time that they had been so, al- 
though they had worked there daily, and Ezra had waited 
for the opportunity. As soon as he was sure that they 
were alone, he put down his hammer, and went to the side 
of the cave. He pulled out a piece of wood which closed 
like a lid or little door a deep crevice in the rock, put in 
his hand, and drew out something that was carefully 
wrapped in goat’s leather. 

Father ! ” exclaimed Cyril, as the coverings were un- 
wrapped. ^^What a splendid sword! Didst thou make 
it?” 


180 THE sWoEDMAKER^ SON 

That did I not,” said Ezra, holding it up. The smith 
that forged that blade was in his grave before the Canaan- 
ites were driven out of Canaan. I think it has had more 
than one hilt put on, and it has passed through the hands 
of kings. It is covered, hilt and all, with inscriptions.” 

The richly chased handle of that sword was of pure 
gold. It was indeed such a weapon as no ordinary chief 
could have afforded, for among the chasings at the haft 
there were great jewels that sparkled in the forge-fire- 
light. 

^^Do you know what kings owned it?” asked Cyril. 

Some of the other swords are fine, but this is the finest.” 

‘‘ That is why I picked it out,” said Ezra, coolly, hold- 
ing up the long, gracefully curved weapon. “No man 
knows if the things that are told him are true or not, but 
they say it was one of the treasures of the old Temple first, 
and then of this new Temple. It may be so. It may be 
that Joshua carried it once, or David. It is the sword I 
have made ready for the king that is to come. He should 
have a better one if I could find it for him.” 

“ He may bring his own sword,” said Cyril. 

“ Kings do not make swords,” replied Ezra. “ They do 
not often use one themselves. Others do it for them.” 

He was speaking entirely as if he were the king^s ar- 
morer just then, very proud of his work, and of the wea- 
pon he was prepared to offer his monarch. 

“ I wish the king might come,” said Cyril, “ so we might 
rise against the Romans at once.” , 



“ ‘ WHAT A SPLENDID SWORD ! ’ EXCLAIMED CYRIL.” 






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THE SWORD FOR THE KING 


183 


“ So do I ” said Ezra. But thou hast seen the sword, 
and I will put it away. And now it is time for thee to set 
out for Jerusalem on thy errand. Thou wilt reach as near 
it as one of the Kedron villages to-night, and get in when 
the gates open to-morrow morning.” 

Cyril departed, while Ezra returned to his work. 

Another day came and passed, bringing no change to 
the men of the Cave of Adullam. 

He will return to-morrow,” said Ezra to his friends, 
when they asked concerning Cyril. ‘^No doubt he will 
bring news.” 

As good a runner as Asahel, the brother of Joab,” had 
Ezra once declared Cyril, but even he was astonished 
when a little after the noon of that day, as he worked at 
his anvil, his name was shouted by Shallum at the en- 
trance of the cave with the announcement : 

Thy son is here ! He brings tidings he will not give 
but in tbe cave!” 

Then they are black,” said Ezra, throwing down his 
hammer. ^‘Let all gather to hear.” 

The summons did not have to be carried far, but Cyril 
first said words, quietly, to his father and one or two more 
to make them send for all who were near enough to be 
summoned, and the cavern was thronged with arrivals 
from the booths among the gorges and under the shelter 
of the neighboring crags. There had been various reasons 
why so many had gathered at that time, as they often 
did, indeed, and the excitement of expectation was now 


10 


184 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


strongly at work among them. Every cresset was piled 
high with blazing wood, the torches flared, and the cave 
was full of a red and smoky glare. 

“ Speak, Cyril ! ” said Ezra. 

Cyril had arrived pale and almost breathless, but he 
had now recovered himself, and his boyish voice was clear 
and full as he responded, speaking as if to his father. 

rested among the vineyards last night, and this 
morning I was at the southern gate of Jerusalem before 
it was open. There was no need to remain there, and I 
walked on along the valley of the Kedron, looking at the 
walls. I meant to go in at the Jericho gate on the north, 
but when I reached it it was still shut, and there were 
guards before it, and the centurion in command stood on 
the wall above the gate. I think he was there because of 
a mounted messenger who came spurring at full gallop 
up the Jericho road. I dared not go too near, for the 
trumpeter at the gate blew as if to warn me, and there 
were others who stood still. I saw the horseman draw his 
rein, and his horse fell as he did so, but the rider sprang 
to his feet and shouted : 

^ From Herod the king to Pontius Pilate and to the 
High Priest : The sun has risen twice since the head of 
John the Baptizer was brought before the king in the 
banquet-hall of Machaerus. Let all guards be doubled. 
Let the Temple gates be shut. Let the camps be under 
arms, lest there shall be a tumult among the people.’ 

Then,” continued Cyril, “ the guards at the gate began 


THE SWORD FOR THE KING 


185 


to arrest every man who had heard, but I fled away down 
the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I came hither through the 
hills, telling no man by the way — for John the Baptizer 
is dead!” 

For a moment there was deep silence, and then arose 
loud cries of lamentation, while strong men rent their 
garments, sobbed aloud, and threw themselves upon the 
ground j for these men had regarded John as a prophet 
sent from God. 

My son,” said Ezra, thou hast done well. Rest thee, 
now, and eat. Then go thou with all speed to the follow- 
ers of Jesus of Nazareth. He has been in Judea, but I 
think thou wilt find him in Galilee.” 

Others will carry him the news sooner than I can,” 
said Cyril ; but I will gladly go.” 

Herod will seek him next,” said Ezra. ^^He would 
have slain him ere this if he had dared.” 

Cyril had traveled fast and far that day, winning high 
praise from the tough-sinewed men to whom he had 
brought his terrible news. He felt somewhat stiff and 
lame next morning, but he was eager to set out upon his 
errand to Galilee ; and before the sun of that day set he 
was again upon the Mount of Olives, taking a farewell 
look at Jerusalem. It was not easy to take his eyes away. 
As he did so, and turned his face northward to resume 
his journey, he exclaimed aloud : 

It is the city of the great King ! It is the city of God ! 
The Temple of the God of Israel is in Jerusalem ! ” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


FEEDING THE MULTITUDE 

C YRIL made his way on foot from Judea through 
the district of Samaria and as far into Galilee as 
Capernaum. 

Footsore and weatherbeaten, but glad to be at his 
journey^s end, he sat with Lois, early one morning, in a 
little porch behind the house of Abigail. 

I will never let thee leave me again,” she said. If 
thou goest, I will go. It has been so weary a time here, 
without thee or father.” 

Then she told him her own simple story, and all that 
she had heard or known concerning Jesus of Nazareth. 

Would that I knew where to find him!” exclaimed 
Cyril. “None sefems to know.” 

“ I know,” said Lois. “ He is not in Capernaum, but he 
is among the fisher people, at the lake shore. But I must 
tell thee about my abba. Cyril, I made it for the Master.” 

Lois arose and stood straight up, her slight figure full 
of the pride she felt at having had such a task assigned 
to her. But when she also spoke of the sandalwood 
casket and the seamless vesture, Cyril exclaimed : 


FEEDING THE MULTITUDE 


187 


Canst thou let me see it ? ” 

Why, no,’^ she said ; he has them both. The mes- 
senger from the wife of Chusa came again, yesterday, to 
warn him. Herod means to kill him, if he can compass 
it without rousing the people. So Abigail sent to warn 
the disciples. Two of them came, and they carried away 
the clothing.” 

Come,” exclaimed Cyril. I must see him — I must 
not wait ! ” 

Lois exchanged a few words with Abigail, in the house, 
and then the brother and sister were hurrying along to- 
gether through the streets of Capernaum, toward the 
sea. 

Look ! ” suddenly exclaimed Cyril. Other people 
know. Crowds of them are going in the same direc- 
tion.” 

All wanted to see Jesus, as much as did Cyril and Lois, 
and they did see him, but not as they expected, for when 
they came out upon the open, sandy slope, going down 
to the beach, they suddenly stood still. 

See,” said Cyril, very much disappointed. That is 
Simonas boat, and in it is the Master with the Twelve.” 

Where can they be going ? ” asked Lois. 

He must escape from Herod,” answered Cyril. “ He 
will land on the other side of the lake, below Bethsaida. 
That is in Philipps land.” 

Philip was Herod^s brother. When their father, Herod 
the Great, died, his will divided his kingdom among his 


188 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


three sons. The territory given to Philip was mainly 
north of the sea of Galilee. Herod Anti pas obtained 
Galilee and a district called Perea, east of the Dead Sea. 
All of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea were given to a fa- 
vorite son, Archelaus, but he was now in disgrace, and 
the only real ruler of Judea was Pilate. 

Cyril and Lois knew these things very well, and that 
Philip and Herod Antipas were not friends, so that Jesus 
might be safe in the place to which Simonas boat was 
taking him. 

Lois,” said Cyril, we have no boat, but we can go 
there on foot, around the head of the lake. It is only a 
few miles.” 

Let us go,” said Lois. 

The same idea seemed to occur at once to other people; 
and the crowd, with all who followed behind it, turned 
toward the head of the lake. Of course they would have 
further to go than would a boat, but the people on foot 
went faster than the heavy fishing-boat, tacking to and 
fro in an unfavorable wind. So it came to pass that when 
the boat steered by Simon drew near the shore east of 
Bethsaida, those who were in it saw the beach already 
lined with an eager throng, waiting for Jesus. 

There was no escape from so touching an appeal, for 
all who could had brought their sick ones with them. 
The blind were there ; the lame, the deaf, the dumb, and 
there were new-comers continually. 

It was afterward written about it that, when Jesus 


FEEDING THE MULTITUDE 


189 


came out of the boat and saw so many people, he had 
compassion on them, “because they were as sheep not 
having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many 
things.” 

Cyril and Lois were there among the earlier arrivals, 
and they had come meaning to stay. 

Lois looked as if the last desire of her heart were grati- 
fied when she saw that Jesus was healing the helpless 
and the suffering. 

As for Cyril, it seemed to him as if he had not only 
succeeded in asking a question, but also in getting a 
direct answer, for, before the day was over, he heard the 
Master say : 

“ Suppose ye that these Galileans whose blood Pilate 
mingled with their sacrifices were sinners above all the 
Galileans because they suffered such things ? I tell you, 
Nay : but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 
Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, 
and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all 
men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell you. Nay : but ex- 
cept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” 

“After all,” said Cyril to Lois, “Ben NassuPs curse 
and the Law could have had nothing to do with the fate 
of those men. But I am glad that the Master has de- 
clared so.” 

“ It is late,” said Lois, after some time. “ How are all 
these people to find food in this place ? It is well that we 
brought some food in a basket.” 


190 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


The sun was already sinking behind the far-away hills 
beyond the palace-walls and towers of Bethsaida when 
the Master paused in his teaching to listen to something 
that was said to him by one of his disciples. 

Lois half heard what was said, and, after thinking a 
moment, she whispered to Cyril : 

He has asked for something to eat. Tell them thou 
hast five loaves and two fishes in thy basket. If they 
want them for the Master, tell Andrew.” 

Cyril stepped forward in time to hear one of the disci- 
ples say : 

This is a desert place, and the time is now past. Send 
the multitude away, that they may go into the villages 
and buy themselves victuals.” 

It was Philip who had spoken, and the look on the 
Masters face was full of the kindly interest it often wore 
when he was instructing those he loved. 

Whence,” he asked, shall we buy bread that these 
may eat ? ” 

Philip answered him in sober earnest : 

^‘Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient 
for them that every one of them may take a little.” 

But Cyril had already obeyed the suggestion of Lois, 
ashamed as he did so at mentioning the insignificant con- 
tents of his little basket. But Andrew had read some 
kind of meaning in the question of the Master, and he 
promptly added : 

There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, 


FEEDING THE MULTITUDE 


191 


and two small fishes: but what are they among so 
many ! ” 

“Make the men sit down/’ said Jesus, addressing his 
followers. 

In a moment more, Cyril’s little basket was in tho 
hands of the Master, and the multitude, under the direc- 
tion of the disciples, were arranging themselves, by 
ranks, in groups of fifties and hundreds, over the broad 
green level, fronting the knoll from which he had been 
speaking. Near the foot of the knoll lay the provision 
baskets, a dozen of them, now empty, in which the disci- 
ples were accustomed to carry their own supplies. 

“What can they expect?” thought Cyril, but Lois 
whispered : 

“ Look ! They have put the big baskets down before 
him. Wait and see ! ” 

The fishes and the loaves were in the hands of Jesus, 
and he was looking upward while all could hear his voice 
as he asked for a blessing on that small provision. 

The Twelve, at his command, took up the baskets, and 
into each he broke both fish and bread until it was full. 

In awe-struck silence then out went the Twelve among 
the multitude. That which was handed to them was but 
such food as they were accustomed to, and they could see 
the Master fill the baskets. 

When the breaking of bread was ended, the Master said : 

“ Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing 
be wasted.” 



192 


THE SWOEDMAKER^S SON 


It was rapidly done, and as the disciples returned to 
the knoll, Lois exclaimed in a tone of wonder : 

Look, Cyril, every basket is full ! 

Didst thou hear him?” said Cyril. ^^He bade the 
disciples take the boat and go to Bethsaida. He wiU 
stay here, awhile, to dismiss the people. Let us go out 
and get there before the boat does. We can find a place 
to sleep.” 

Lois was tired, and did not feel able to walk a long dis- 
tance that evening, but Cyril never seemed to be tired. 
They saw the disciples go. They saw Jesus send away 
the multitude, while the dangerous talk about an imme- 
diate uprising against the Romans died away — perhaps 
because there was no one to take a leading part after the 
Twelve were gone. Then Jesus turned away eastward, 
toward the mountains, and Cyril and Lois walked slowly 
along the lake-shore toward Bethsaida. 


CHAPTER XXV 


CYRIL^S ERRAND 

C YRIL and Lois found shelter for the night among 
their hospitable friends near the head of the lake. 
Cyril, however, was out of the house in the gray dawn of 
the next morning. 

I must see some of the MastePs followers,” he said to 
himself. They will go after him some time to-day, for 
he is yet on the other side. I believe he means to visit 
Jerusalem for the Passover, in spite of Herod^s threats; 
but if Herod can seize him on the way through Galilee, 
he will put him to death as he killed John.” 

It was, therefore, with a sense of duty that Cyril went 
down to the shore, at the point near which he believed 
Simon would be likely to approach the land. 

In a few minutes more he exclaimed, as he stood on the 
beach peering out across the morning sea : 

The Master is with them ! How could that happen 1 ” 
When they had come ashore, Cyril asked of Philip, • 
Did you go back after him ? ” 

“No,” was Philipps reply ; “we rowed ugainst the wind 
all night. The sail was of no use. Not half an hour ago, 

193 


194 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


out upon the lake, when it was the roughest, he came to 
us.” And then he told Cyril that they had seen the Mas- 
ter walking upon the water, and that Peter also had been 
seen to walk upon its surface. But Cyril was prepared 
for this miraculous power by what he had seen when the 
Master stilled the storm. 

After a little Cyril asked : 

‘^Is he going to Jerusalem for the Passover?” 

^‘If he go,” said Philip, ‘‘he must go through Galilee 
in secret. We could join him after he got into Samaria, 
or -Judea, or into some land beyond Herod^s reach. The 
Romans will protect him.” 

“ I cannot believe they will,” said Cyril ; and he gazed 
at the Master as reverently as did the rest, for a moment, 
and then he hurried away to tell Lois. On the way, how- 
ever, thinking of the Romans, he remembered that he 
had heard of their quarrels with the Herod family, and 
that Ben Nassur and the Galileans, whom Pilate had 
smitten at the Feast of the Tabernacles, were well known 
to be enemies of Jesus. 

“ Pilate is not his friend,” said Cyril to Lois, when they 
met ; “ but Pilate may protect him in despite of Herod.” 

“All of Abigail’s friends are going to Jerusalem,” said 
Lois. “ She has heard that Mary is at Nazareth. They 
will all be there. I can go with them.” 

“ I ’ll give thee the rest of my money, nearly all of it,” 
said Cyril. “ I cannot travel with them. It will be better 
for Abigail if I am not with thee, for Ben Nassur and his 


CYRIL^S ERRAND 


195 


friends might trouble her ; he is very bitter toward me. 
But I shall be with the King when he goes into Jerusa- 
lem. Father will come, too, for I will carry him word 
that the Master is coming.” 

Cyril was euthusiastic. Lois told him that their first 
duty was to go and see Abigail. 

I will just stop there a moment,” he said, ^‘as I go 
through Capernaum. There is no time to spare now if I 
am to be in time.” 

‘‘Cyril,” she said, “the Master did not wear his new 
abba yesterday — ” 

“ He will wear it when he rides into Jerusalem,” replied 
Cyril. “It is that for which it was made ; and the inner ves- 
ture, too. Father and all the rest must be ready for him.” 

Abigail, when they came to her house, did not share 
CyriPs enthusiasm. 

“ Yea, truly,” she said, “ I go to Jerusalem. Lois will 
go there with me also, because I go to remain, and do not 
return to Capernaum. Lois will work with me and be 
nearer her father, but what Mary and the others said was 
that they would go if the Master himself went.” 

“ I have heard that he is going,” said Cyril positively, 
but his assertion was stronger than his convictions. 

Even as he hurried away, after bidding an affectionate 
good-by to Lois, it came more plainly into his mind that 
neither Andrew nor Philip had said more than that if 
the Master should go to Jerusalem, he wauld have to go 
secretly in order to go safely. 


196 


THE SWOEDMAKEE’S SON 


He trudged along with the other Passover pilgrims 
until he approached Samaria, hut there he was recognized 
by some enemies of his father, and only by his fleetness 
of foot did he get away into the mountains which had so 
long ago hidden him and Ezra. He did not now, as be- 
fore, make his way northward to Mount Gilboa, but he 
was so long in scouting southward, from point to point, 
that he came very near not reaching Jerusalem in time 
for the Passover at all ; and he was in continual dread lest 
the New King should get to the holy city without him. 

Father will be there,” Cyril thought ; “ but I want to 
be there as well. Lois and Abigail will not have any- 
thing to hinder them. Lois won’t have to work at her 
embroidery and sewing after the new kingdom begins. I 
can take care of her then.” 

He was very sure of that, for he meant to be one of 
the King’s captains, and he believed that his father Ezra, 
the King’s Swordmaker, would be put in command of a 
whole legion of men. 

Cyril felt safe and could walk along the Roman high- 
way after he entered Judea. He felt almost grateful to 
Pilate when he saw the eagle standards carried past him 
by some cohorts that had marched all the way from Da- 
mascus. They were not under the direction of Herod. 
They were not preparing to attack any of the Jews. He 
was willing to march behind them all the rest of the way, 
until he saw them wheel toward the great fortified camp 
north of the city. 


CYEIL’S ERRAND 


197 


Cyril himself plodded steadily on, for it was getting 
late in the very day before the Passover, and he must 
reach the city before the closing of the gate at sunset. 

“ I must see some of the disciples,” he thought. Si- 
mon will tell me what it is best for me to do next.” 

The Jericho gate was still open — the same gate at 
which he had heard the news of the death of John the Bap- 
tizer. Many were going out and in, unhindered by the 
guards. Not a Roman among the stern soldiers who were 
there on duty seemed to fear that the new king of Israel 
was coming to drive him and his comrades away. Cyril 
thought of that as he pushed along past them j but he 
had not walked a hundred yards beyond the gate before 
he was suddenly halted. Right in the way before him 
stood the frowning and imposing figure and face of Ben 
Nassur. 

Thou here ? ” exclaimed the rabbi. What part hast 
thou in the Temple, thou accursed one ? Thou shalt not 
eat the Feast with thy people ! The man of Nazareth 
dares not come. He fled away unto the coasts of the 
heathen. He is with the outcasts of Tyre and Sidon. 
Go, thou, — and may another tower in Siloam fall on 
thee and thine ! ” 

Cyril had not so far forgotten his old reverence for the 
rabbis that he was able to make any reply. He felt 
stunned by the news, if it were true, and chilled to the 
heart by Ben NassuFs ill-omened greeting. Isaac had 
evidently put away all memory of the fact that Cyril and 


198 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Ms father had fought for him, and had saved his life on 
the day of the massacre of the Galileans in the Temple. 
What he had said now was only in part true. Jesus of 
Nazareth was, indeed, not to attend that feast, and he 
was away toward the Sidonian border, preaching and 
teaching and healing. Herod, the king, was so occupied 
with other matters just at the time, that he could give 
but little attention to one he thought a mere visionary — 
one whose followers had hardly so much as a bow and 
arrow among them all. 

Cyril made his way onward as best he could until at 
last he sat down wearily on one of the stone steps leading 
up to the gate of the Temple, in utter dejection. 

“ He is not coming,” he muttered. 

“Cyril,” said a low, sweet voice near him, “look up. 
Father and I are here. We knew that thou wouldst be 
sure to come almost at once to the Temple.” 

“ My son,” said Ezra, “ the Master will surely come in 
his own time. Thou must now go with us, and after the 
feast I will tell thee what to do.” 

“It is so long to wait,” said Cyril j but he arose and 
went with them. 

He heard many things on the way ; not the least of all 
was the news that Abigail and Lois were not to live in 
the city itself, but at Joppa, by the sea, where a kins- 
woman of AbigaiPs, named Tabitha, had already a high 
reputation and a thriving trade as a maker of garments. 



‘CYRIL,’ SAID A LOW, SWKET VOICE NEAR HIM, ‘LOOK UP. 
FATHER AND I ARE HERE.’” 



9 




4 


t 


t 

4 1 







CYRIL'S ERRAND 


201 


and was in need of skilled women. She was now in Je- 
rusalem, but they were all to return to Joppa with her. 

^^It will be better than being under Herod^s rule at 
Capernaum,” said Lois ; and we can wait there until we 
hear that the Master is coming.” 


11 


CHAPTER XXVI 


EZRA AND THE CENTURION 



HE Passover Feast, always a solemn season, seemed 


i to Cyril changed to a time of mourning, so great 
was his disappointment. It was, on the contrary, a time 
of joy to Lois. After so long a separation, she was once 
more with her father and brother ; she was in Jerusalem, 
and they were never tired of showing her the city. She 
could attend the Temple services, in the Court of the 
Women j but Cyril was unable to forget, even while gazing 
with her upon the glories of the Temple and its surround- 
ings, that it was still a kind of Roman fort, with heathen 
guards, and that the standard over the city gates was the 
imperial eagle of Rome, and not the lion of the tribe of 


J udah. 


Lois was happy, and her enjoyment of her companion- 
ship with her father and brother continued when, after 
the feast-days were ended, they all set out together for 
J oppa. 

have heard that it is a beautiful place,” she said. 

A city of gardens ! And then, Cyril, I have never seen 
the sea, nor any sailing-vessels larger than the fishing- 
boats at Capernaum.” 


202 


EZRA AND THE CENTURION 


203 


Cyril also was thinking of the sea j and all the more 
because of several serious talks he had with his father. 
A clear-headed man was Ezra, and he seemed to have 
utter confidence in the wisdom of Jesus of Nazareth as a 
leader. It was a matter of course that he had no confi- 
dence whatever in the wisdom of Cyril, and was ready 
not only to reprove him for his impatience and his low 
spirits, but to tell him what to do. 

^^The Cave must be kept more secret,” said Ezra. 

Not so many men must come there. I shall be there 
only a part of the time. At other times I can find work 
at Joppa. Lois has a home. I tell thee, the Master will 
wait till next Passover. He is now visiting different 
towns, to make them ready. Thou wilt then be a year 
older. What thou hast need of is to know more. It. 
were well for thee to know somewhat of the sea. Thou 
must see Egypt and thou must see Rome, that thou 
mayest be of more use to the King. He may need, some 
day, to send out a messenger who knows the sea, and has 
seen other lands than this — ” 

I am a good boatman,” said Cyril. 

Good enough for Chinnereth lake,” replied his father, 
but thou must see war-galleys and fleets. I can give 
thee some money. Thou canst earn more. There are 
ships from Joppa to Alexandria. There are many from 
Alexandria to Rome. Thou wilt go and thou wilt return 
before next Passover, and — the God of Israel go with 
thee.” 


204 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


“I will go!^^ exclaimed Cyril, hopeful again j “I will 
learn all I can, and I will come back in season to march 
into Jerusalem with the Master.^^ 

Cyril was not contented in Joppa, in spite of its towers 
and temples, and its beautiful gardens that are so fruit- 
ful to this day. He had seen such things before. He 
could sympathize with Lois, in her great delight concern- 
ing her new home with Tabitha, after they reached it, 
but he could not feel as she did when they went down to 
the shore, and looked out on the blue waves of the Medi- 
terranean Sea. Not only had he seen them before, but he 
was thinking and dreaming of something beyond them. 

He was more interested in the instruction his father 
was giving him as to how he was to conduct himself after 
they should be separated. And yet he found growing 
within him a sense of confidence that he could take care 
of himself after all. He was going out to see the world, 
and the Mediterranean and the ships were to take him 
where he wanted to go. Lois felt the separation keenly, 
though she was more used than other girls to living 
away from her own kindred. She clung to Cyril more 
closely, day after day, while he was waiting for the ship 
in which his father had secured him passage to Alexan- 
dria, the great seaport of Egypt. 

Cyril,” she said, “ here we know even less of the 
Master^s work than we did at Capernaum. You will not 
hear anything about him at Rome.” 

The sailing day came, and Cyril bade Lois good-by at 


EZRA AND THE CENTURION 


205 


the house of Tabitha. Both of the older women gave 
him good advice, but Lois could only weep and cling to 
him as if she could not let him go. Ezra walked on with 
him, in silence, down to the wharf. There he spoke in 
a voice that told how deeply he felt at parting from his 
son. 

The God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, and of 
Isaac, and of Jacob, go with thee and bring thee back to 
thine own land in peace! While thou art gone, keep 
thou thy covenant with thy God and with thy father, and 
with thy King that is to come — for he will surely come,’^ 
were Ezra’s parting words. 

Cyril had no words to answer, and the sailors were lift- 
ing the mainsail of the ship, and a shout summoned him 
hastily on board. The last man he saw, as the swift ves- 
sel bore him away, was the tall form of Ezra the Sword- 
maker, standing on the wharf, and watching the sail that 
was carrying his only son out into the world — out among 
all manner of perils and all races of heathen. 

It was indeed a heathen world into which Cyril was 
sailing. It was a world into which the Master had not 
yet come, and in which the Scriptures that prophesied his 
coming were unknown. 

The wind was fresh and fair, the sea was no rougher 
than Lake Chinnereth itself, and the vessel was a speedy 
traveler. She was not large, and could be propelled by 
oars when necessary, but she was not what was called a 
galley. Cyril had seen numbers of these in the harbor of 


206 


THE SWOEDMAKER’S SON 


Joppa, and now lie saw more j and the more he saw of 
these boats the more horrible they seemed to him They 
were in reality floating prisons for the captives, the slaves, 
or the convicted criminals who were chained to the seats 
as rowers. 

Cyril pitied them from the bottom of his heart j for 
among the stories told him by his father had been one 
concerning hundreds of the bravest men of Judea and 
Galilee who had been condemned to work until their 
death in the galleys of Herod the great. Beyond that, he 
had another interest in the galleys, for they were the 
ships of war also, and the Romans had great fleets of 
them. Once the thought came to him : “ If Jesus were 
King,' he could have no fleets of galleys. I donT believe 
he would condemn anybody to row in them — even Sa- 
maritans or Romans.’^ 

Cyril was at the same time conscious of a flerce, re- 
vengeful bitterness of his own, which made him long to 
send to some such punishment every man of the oppress- 
ors of his people, beginning with Herod Antipas himself. 
The towers of the strong fortiflcations of the port of 
Joppa were now growing small and dim in the distance, 
whenever he looked back ; but he preferred looking for- 
ward, standing on the high perch made by the cabin deck 
in the front part of the old-fashioned ship, and gazing 
out as if he were looking across the water into the won- 
derful places he was soon to visit. 

Away behind him, a trim, weU-built house, in one of 




f 


EZRA AND THE CENTURION 


209 


the Tipper streets of Joppa^ had a small but very pretty 
garden behind it ; and there, in a kind of arbor, shadowed 
by a very luxuriant almond-tree, sat Lois, all alone. Her 
eyes were a little red, but she was not weeping. She was 
thinking. 

“ Cyril will see very many wonderful things,^^ she re- 
flected. He will see those great cities and the temples 
father told about, in Egypt, and in Greece, and in Rome, 
too, if he goes there. He will see how the people live, 
and what they do. I long to travel, to go out into the 
world.” 

Meanwhile, several miles east of Joppa, at a place where 
two roads met, one of them the road to Jerusalem, a 
squadron of Roman cavalry had halted, and in front of 
them a horseman, who seemed to be their commander, 
'\eaned forward, looking down into the face of Ezra the 
Swordmaker. He was now on his way to perform his 
errand at the Cave before going to work at Joppa. 

I know thee,” said the horseman. I am Regulus, 
the centurion. Thou canst not escape me now. I will 
send thee back to Samaria to be condemned.” 

^Hf thou hast aught against me, tell me what it is,” 
said Ezra. I have not harmed thee or thine.” 

Ezra had been keeping his right hand covered by his 
mantle, and now the centurion laughed aloud as he ex- 
claimed : 

“ Knowest thou not that thou art a marked man ? 
Hold out thy right hand ! ” 


210 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


They were, except that the soldier spoke in Latin, the 
very words that Ezra had heard the Master speak in the 
synagogue at Capernaum, and he at once held out his 
now strong and perfect hand for the centurion to see. 

I so at fault V’ said the Roman. “Get thee 
hence. Thou art not the man. His hand was withered 
to the wrist. Ride on, men ! But he is very like him. I 
should know the old smith, too.” 

On they rode and on walked Ezra, but nothing on earth 
could have convinced that centurion that he had really 
seen the same useless, withered hand that had at one 
time abandoned the hammer and the sword, as its owner 
thought, forever. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


CYRIL AT ROME 

M onth after month went by, and Lois was quietly 
happy in her new home in Joppa. Her father was 
near, and came to visit her frequently. She had never 
known a kinder, better woman than was Tabitha, whose 
Greek name was Dorcas. She was a friend to the poor, 
and she was loved by the bright-eyed daughter of Ezra 
the Swordmaker. Moreover, she seemed never to tire of 
hearing Lois and Abigail tell of the doings and sayings 
of the great Galilean prophet, the Son of David. 

For that matter, his name was in the mouths of all 
men. Stories came with all travelers from the north, or 
from Jerusalem, of the marvels which still accompanied 
him as he journeyed hither and thither. Not only were 
his cures even more wonderful, but he had again fed a 
great multitude with a mere handful of bread j and it was 
said that he had more than once recalled the dead to life. 

Lois was thinking of him one day about noon. She 
had gone up to the housetop. It was a favorite resort, 
for there she could be alone ; and the housetops of that 
part of Joppa overlooked the harbor and the sea. 

211 


212 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


“He has never preached in Joppa/^ she thought, 
“ People here have to go to Jerusalem to hear him — and, 
oh, I would I knew where Cyril is, and what he is doing 
to-day.’^ 

She would not have been by any means so happy if she 
had known, or if she could have read his thoughts. 

Rome was a mighty city in those days. It had many 
a mile of streets and avenues, reaching out into the sur- 
rounding country, until nobody could tell where the city 
ended, although everybody knew that its center was on a 
hill at the capitol. Far from the capitol, but still within 
the city, was the amphitheater, or circus, where the most 
wonderful shows were given that the world has ever 
known. There wild beasts and men were made to fight 
by thousands, for the shows were murderous, and the vast 
sandy area of the amphitheater was often stained with 
blood. 

Cyril was walking along a narrow, crooked street, that 
led away from the capitol in the direction of the circus. 

“ My last copper coin is gone,” he said. “ I can earn 
nothing. The city swarms with unemployed freemen. 
There are slaves to do all the work. I shall starve, for I 
am not a slave, and have no master to feed me. Were I 
a Roman I would be fed by the authorities ; but I am only 
a Jew. Only a Jew?” He straightened up proudly. “ I 
am glad to be a Jew, and not a Roman. But nobody 
could capture this place — I suppose I shall die here. I 
have had no food since yesterday morning, and but little 


CYRIL AT ROME 


213 


for days before that. I shall never see Lois or father 
again, for I shall not be at Jerusalem next Passover. 
Jesus of Nazareth will be there ; but I fear he cannot take 
Jerusalem, and as for Rome — it is quite impossible to 
overcome the veteran legions that I have seen at Rome. 
All the world could not conquer them ! ” 

So all the Romans believed, not dreaming of the days 
to come, when swarms of men from the North were to 
slay their legions in the very streets along which Cyril 
had been walking during those weary days. 

How endless they seemed as he walked aimlessly on ! 
He was ragged and hungry, and without hope, for he was 
a stranger in a strange land. His heart grew heavier, and 
there was a mist before his eyes. 

I have seen Egypt,” he thought, and the pyramids, and 
the temples of the old heathen gods. And I saw many Gre- 
cian cities on my way here. I can talk better Greek and 
better Latin. How hungry I am ! — and so thirsty, too ! ” 
At that moment he almost ran against a wall, and he 
stood still. It was one side of a vast marble arch at the 
main entrance to the circus, and, as he looked up, he saw 
a placard, with an inscription in several languages. He 
could read some of them. They were all alike, and they 
told him that the EmperoPs prefect of the circus had ar- 
ranged for prize foot-races. One of these was free to all 
who could pass the trial race for admission. There was 
to be a prize of ten sestertia, and CyriPs brain whirled a 
little at the thought of so much money. 


214 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


More than six hundred shekels ! ” he exclaimed, after 
a calculation — “ and I can yet run ! It says that the suh- 
prefect will see all who apply.” He stood gazing at the 
placard and reading it aloud. Suddenly a voice near him 
said : 

That he will, and he will scourge you well if you fail 
at the test. Can you run ? You look like it. Come ! ” 
Black as jet was the face of the dwarfish figure that 
Cyril at once turned to foUow through the arch and a side- 
door and along a tile-floored passage. In a few minutes 
more he stood in the presence of a richly dressed official 
who for a moment eyed him sternly. The dwarf had ad- 
dressed this great man very reverently, calling him Cris- 
pus, hut a strange thought flashed into the mind of Cyril, 
for he had never seen a Roman whose face was like that 
of the sub-prefect. 

0 Jewish boy, who art thou?” asked Crispus, in Ara- 
maic, with an accent that made CyriPs heart beat. 

1 am Cyril Ben Ezra, of the house of Kish,” replied 
Cyril, staring hard at the grim, iron-mouthed official, for 
something in the maffis face seemed familiar. 

Amen ! ” said Crispus. Answer in thine own tongue, 
for thou art a Galilean. I am Reuben Ben Nassur of 
Cana. I am thy kinsman. Knowest thou aught of my 
house?” 

“ Isaac the Rabbi is well,” replied Cyril, and on he went, 
for Reuben, or Crispus, asked him many questions, and 
they talked in Hebrew, which none who came near them 


CYRIL AT ROME 


215 


could understand. Perhaps one reason why Crispus was 
sub-prefect was his gift of tongues. Perhaps another 
reason was plain when he said of the circus : 

What is it to me or thee if all the heathen slay one 
another? Thou shalt run. I will give thee a week of 
training before the trial, but know that I cannot save thee 
from the scourge if thou fail before the prefect. Mark 
thou this, also — forget that thou art a Jew until thy feet 
have told Tallienus that thou art a good runner. Thou 
hast nothing to do with the Law whilst thou art a beast 
in the Roman circus.^^ 

Bitter indeed was the cup of poverty that Cyril was 
drinking. He had put away his pride, driven by starva- 
tion, and now a brother of Ben Nassur himself was bid- 
ding him put aside his religion. No opportunity for 
answer, yes or no, was given, however, and he was led 
away by the dwarf to one of the outbuildings of the am- 
phitheater. It was, as he at once discovered, a kind of 
jail in which were kept the men who were in training for 
the races. Many of them were mere slaves put there by 
their owners, in hope that they might win a prize for 
their masters. At all events Cyril was to have shelter 
and food, but the boarding-house or jail of the runners 
adjoined great dens of wild animals, and he was kept 
awake by the roaring of many lions j for a thunderstorm 
swept over Rome, and the imprisoned kings of forest or 
plain responded with thunders of their own making. 

In the morning it was a relief to Cyril to find how un- 


216 


THE SWORHMAKEE’S SON 


noticed he was among the motley crowd who were there 
to get a right to run for the prize. There were scores of 
them, and none could hope for favors. Cyril could not, 
certainly, for Crispus seemed to have entirely forgotten 
that he had ever been in Galilee. There were training 
races that very morning, and one of them was also a first 
trial of speed. It was severe, they said, but when it was 
over and only three out of more than twenty were per- 
mitted to train longer, Cyril said confidently : 

There was not a runner among them except the Greek.” 

A tall, dignified man, in a plain white robe, with a 
broad purple border, stood near him. Cyril knew 
that the robe was the “ toga,” but its wearer needed no 
ornament to show that he was the person of highest rank 
among those who watched the runners. Not a word did 
he speak now, but looked at Cyril from head to foot, and 
then beckoned to Crispus. The grim brother of Rabbi 
Isaac hurried forward, bowing very low. 

^^See thou to it,” said the Roman. Train thou that 
young panther well. I see no other that will stand a 
chance with the Athenian slave of Tallienus.” 

‘^Most noble Valerianus,” responded Crispus, ‘Ghou art 
an admirable judge of men, but I will dare remind thee. 
Be thou sure that Tallienns’s slave will run well — but the 
course is long. Yonder youth is of the hardiest race on 
earth.” 

‘Gt is well,” said Valerianus, coldly. ‘G will send him 
to the quarries if he lets the Athenian beat him.” 




CYKIL AT ROME 


217 


It was a hard saying, but Cyril already understood that 
a Roman noble considered a young Jew like himself of 
much less importance than a chariot-horse. 

The training-school of the circus was no place for 
favoritism; but Crispus now had a special reason for 
giving his young Galilean kinsman a full week of prepa- 
ration before testing him. Cyril quickly recovered from 
the effects of his days of hunger ; but nothing could take 
from him a certain sense of shame that he was to take 
part in the games of the heathen and to run a race to 
amuse the rabble of Rome. A more cheerful thought 
followed, and he consoled himself with the reflection: ‘^It 
is really not against the Law. Ben Nassur would say that. 
And if I win a prize I can get back to Jerusalem in time 
for the Passover.” 








CHAPTER XXVIII 


A FOOT-RACE FOR FREEDOM 

E zra, the armorer, had long since returned from his 
first visit to the Cave of Adullam. He had after- 
ward made other visits, and had included in his errands 
other places as wild and as deeply hidden among the cav- 
ernous ridges of eastern Judea. His wish was to attract 
attention as little as possible. He could not forget his 
first warning from Regulus, the centurion, who had com- 
manded at Samaria at the time he and Cyril fied from 
that city. Whenever he was near Joppa one of his com- 
forts was to talk with Lois and her friends about Cyril, 
and to bring them tidings concerning the work and the 
followers of Jesus of Nazareth. The Galilean Teacher 
was now known throughout the land, and through wide 
regions of the adjoining countries. It was said that the 
pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feasts 
since his ministry began already numbered several mil- 
lions, and that they had carried away with them his mar- 
velous sayings and accounts of his more than human 
power to the remotest corners of the inhabited earth. 

Of course, great numbers of them had been from 
218 


A FOOT-RACE FOR FREEDOM 


219 


Rome, and the name of Jesus of Nazareth was known 
even in the palace of the Emperor, but the Roman rulers 
were convinced there was no danger in him, so far as 
they were concerned^^ 

y y 

Cyril^s week of preparation went quickly by, but he 
had made the most of it. It seemed to him that he had 
never felt better than he did one morning — it was on a 
first day of the week — when he was marched out, with a 
gang of nearly four score others, to see how many of 
them were really fit to run for a prize in the presence of 
the august ruler of the Roman Empire. 

“Run thy best, son of Ezra,” said Crispus. “I have 
no fear for thee. Run thou like Asahel, or the scourge 
will await thy return ! ” 

Cyril had no thought of failure. He said to himself as 
they gathered at the starting line : 

“ I am so sorry for them. Almost all of them will be 
scourged.” 

There was none to protest, for most of them were 
bondsmen. 

The word was given, and off went the racers. 

One man had quickly mounted one of the horses held 
in waiting, and now cantered briskly along with the run- 
ners. He was a Roman, with his toga thrown over his 
arm, and he seemed to be intently watching the runners. 

Away went Cyril, as light of foot as a wild roe, and the 
horseman was compelled to spur his nag, which was a 

somewhat heavy steed. 

12 


220 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


There were cheers from some voices behind, but Cyril 
knew not what it was for. He had seen a number of 
noble Romans at the stand, and among them was the 
Valerianus who had so savagely threatened him. 

On, on, on, around the circus oval, and stiU the rider 
urged his horse, but no other runner was near them as 
they returned to the starting-line, for Cyril was three full 
horse-lengths ahead. 

^^Most noble Tallienus,” came with a sneering laugh 
from the lips of Valerianus, ^Hhou hast need of a better 
horse if thou art to beat my Syrian panther. I will wage 
thee a hundred sestertia he wins the race against thy 
Athenian.’^ 

Taken ! Apollos can beat him ! ” shouted Tallienus, 
angrily. 

Meanwhile Cyril stood awaiting further orders, hardly 
knowing that he had done anything remarkable, until he 
was bidden, in a low voice, by Crispus ; 

Get thee in ! I am proud of thee ! Israel against the 
world, after aU, and Galilee against Grgecia ! 

Even the hard heart of the apostate Jew who had for- 
gotten the Law retained some national pride — the bro- 
ther of Rabbi Isaac was still a Galilean. 

Cyril knew the Greek runner who was supposed to be 
his rival. He had even spoken with him, but they were 
now kept apart, by order of the prefect of the games, and 
no other public trial of speed was permitted until the day 
of the races. 


A FOOT-EACE FOR FREEDOM 


221 


There was a great show for the people of Rome, hut 
none of the men who were to strive in the arena were 
allowed to witness other performances. Like the lions 
and tigers, they were kept in their dens until the hour 
came to send them out. Then, indeed, hundreds were to 
go out to die, but the mere trials of speed of foot came on 
before the more barbarous combats. 

Just before the hour for CyriPs race, the owners of 
slaves who were to run, and certain men of distinction, were 
admitted to the rooms where the runners were gathered. 
Among them were several whom Cyril had seen before, 
and he was soon aware that most of them favored Apol- 
los. The tall, finely formed young Greek, half a head 
taller than Cyril, did indeed seem to promise speed. So 
did a number of others, but the son of Ezra had been 
studying them during their training, and believed most 
of them to be overrated by their partizans. He had 
somehow formed a liking for Apollos, and now it made 
him sick at heart to hear Tallienus say so unfeelingly to 
his noble-looking bondsman : 

I promised thee thy freedom if thou wert among the 
first four. Now, I tell thee, if thou art not there, I will 
slay thee. If thou art only there, I will give thee a prize. 
But if thou wilt win the race I will free thee and thy 
father^s family, and will also give thee back thy confis- 
cated estate at Athens.” 

Apollos heard in silence, but his face was of an ashy 
pallor as he glanced toward Cyril. 


222 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Valerianus speaks to thee,” said Crispus at that mo- 
ment, and Cyril turned to look into the cruel face of the 
haughty Roman. 

“The second prize is five sestertia,” said Valerianus. 
“ If thou win but that, thou wilt with it win the scourge, 
and manacles, and thy hammer in the quarries. Thou 
must win the first prize ! ” 

The hot blood rose to the forehead of the young Jew, 
but his lips closed tightly, and, at that very moment, the 
summoning trumpet sounded at the door opening into the 
arena. 

Four ranks of runners marched out, ten men in each 
rank, each man^s place being decided by lot, by a number 
drawn from a box. 

The amphitheater was enormous. All around the oval 
sandy level of the arena, the seats arose, tier after tier, 
and from them eighty thousand spectators were looking 
down in eager expectation. Cyril hardly saw them, al- 
though the Emperor himself was there, and all the splen- 
did array of the richest people of Rome itself, with kings 
and nobles and chiefs from all the world tributary to 
Rome. For one moment he was thinking and he was lis- 
tening. He and Apollos were side by side, in the foremost 
rank, and he heard the Greek boy murmur: 

“ Mother — father — my brethren and my sisters, — they 
shall be free, or I hope TaUienus will slay me ! ” 

Cyril did not turn to look at him, for he was thinking: 

“The first prize or the quarries — I rmtt win, or I 


A FOOT-EACE FOE FEEEDOM 


223 


shall not be with Jesus of Nazareth when he enters 
Jerusalem.’^ 

The trumpet sounded again from near where the Em- 
peror sat, and the racers were off, all together. Not one 
of them but was a good runner, and there were several 
smaller prizes, but the race was little more, after all, than 
an occasion for gambling to the dissipated, corrupt, idle 
populace of Rome. It was evil, evil, evil, like all the 
other games of the Roman circus ! 

A splendid runner was Apollos, and he shot ahead with 
a great bound that called forth plaudits from the specta- 
tors. Close behind him, quickly, came several others, but 
before the runners were a third of the way around the 
arena one of these tripped and fell, and another fell over 
him. 

They will be scourged ! thought Cyril. More than 
half the rest are behind me now. But the pace is too fast 
at the beginning.^^ 

Several more were shortly compelled to slacken their 
pace and Cyril passed them, but still, away in the front, 
with an elastic, springing step, the taU young Greek kept 
the lead. 

The Greek will win ! ” growled Valerianus to Crispus, 
who sat at his side. Thy Galilean is twenty paces be- 
hind him. I will send him to the galleys ! 

“ Only ten paces now,” said Crispus, calmly, after a few 
minutes. “ 0 noble Valerianus, it is the last circuit that 
tells.” 


224 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Just then the runners came nearer ahJ Valerianus was 
silent until they had passed. The race included one more 
complete round of the arena. 

“ All are out of the race but those two,” muttered the 
Roman noble. “ I shall lose half my fortune if that Jew- 
ish boy fails me. What!, See — they are abreast. Bac- 
chus ! My Jew is winning ! ” 

Not yet. There was still a long race before him, but he 
and Apollos ran side by side, and the circus rang with the 
loud applause of the multitude. 

Other runners were not far behind, but it seemed evi- 
dent that the first prize was between these two. Until 
that moment, Cyril had had no thought but of winning if 
be could ; but suddenly he cast a swift glance at the face 
of Apollos. It was somewhat pale instead of fiushed, and 
Cyril saw a look of terror, almost of agony, in his eyes. 

He is breathing with difficulty ! ” thought Cyril, “ and 
I shall beat him ! But he and his family will be slaves for- 
ever if I do.” 

Cyril was ahead now, and the plaudits rang out again. 

Thy sestertia are safe,” said Crispus to Valerianus. 

I will slay that Greek I ” hissed Tallienus. 

Cyril heard a gasping cry as Apollos put forth all his 
remaining strength, for they were nearing the goal. 

“ I can give him his freedom ! ” fiashed into the mind of 
Cyril. “ They may slay him — or me. Shall I ? ” 

Then it was as if he heard certain words — but in truth 
he only remembered — words he had heard the Master 


A FOOT-RACE FOR FREEDOM 


227 


say long ago, upon the mount in Galilee. Cyril could not 
have told his thought, hut in the next moment he spoke 
in Greek to Apollos : 

Win thou, Apollos ! Jesus of Nazareth has hidden me 
to set thee free ! ” 

Cyril had to slacken his speed, for the Greek hoy was 
beginning to falter. 

One moment more and they were over the line, with 
Apollos the winner hy only half a pace ! 

How the amphitheater rang with the shouts, as the two 
who had distanced all the rest were led before the Prefect 
of the games to receive their prizes ! Tallienus was there, 
and he at once loudly proclaimed his promise to Apollos, 
and his purpose to keep it. Valerianus was not there j 
hut Crispus stood hy the Prefect with a darkening face, 
and he spoke low to Cyril in Hebrew as the little hag of 
gold containing the second prize was handed to the Jew- 
ish runner. 

Thou didst well. There is no fault to he found with 
thee. But get thee hence. I have ordered them to pass 
thee at the gates. Betake thyseK to Ostia ! — and that 
with speed. Take any ship that sails this day, no matter 
whither bound. If thou art found in Rome at sunset, 
thou art at the mercy of Valerianus. Belt thy prize un- 
der thy tunic, that none may know it is with thee. Nay, 
speak not again to me ! Go ! Go ! 


CHAPTER XXIX 


THE SHIPWRECK 

T he autumnal months were beautiful along the 
eastern shore of the Mediterranean; the people of 
Joppa said that never before had their gardens been 
so lovely or so fruitful. But as the long weeks went by 
without any word from her brother, it seemed to Lois as 
if there was no joy in the world. 

Ezra the Swordmaker was cheerful whenever he came 
to see his daughter, but even he grew gloomy when au- 
tumn wore away and the winter followed, and he knew 
not what had become of his only son. All he could say 
to Lois was : 

Cyril promised to return in time for the Passover, and 
if he is alive he will keep his word.” 

The spring returned, and the gardens of Joppa were one 
flush of flowers and fruit blossoms, but neither message 
nor letter came from Cyril. 

Tidings came from Galilee, both to Ezra and to Abigail ; 
and many others also seemed to have good reasons for 
believing that Jesus of Nazareth purposed being in Jeru- 
salem at the Passover. At the same time, it was known 


228 


THE SHIPWEECK 


229 


that the enmity toward him among the high priests and 
scribes and Pharisees was becoming embittered. 

Nearer and nearer came the April days set apart for the 
great feast, and Lois found herself more than ever in- 
clined to go often up to the roof of Tabitha^s house and 
gaze out upon the sea. There were always sails in sight, 
and one of them might belong to the ship which was 
bringing Cyril home. 

One evening of the first week of the Passover month 
Lois was still upon the roof, gazing upon the sea. A 
gale was blowing, and the waters were all one toss of 
white-capped billows. 

She was not the only anxious watcher that night, for 
even after the shadows deepened so that the whitecaps 
themselves were hardly visible, a tall, vigorous man was 
walking to and fro along the shore. There were others 
upon the shore, but he was walking alone. 

It has always been a terrible place for wrecks,” he 
said. Fleets have gone down, off the coast of Joppa. 
But Cyril must be very near us now. The Master will 
come to this Passover, and I pray that my son may meet 
him with me.” 

Ezra could not leave the shore, but Lois gave up her 
watch on the roof. It was so dark that the ships could 
not be seen. 

That, indeed, was one great peril of the ships, for they 
could no longer see each other. Neither could they be 
easily steered in such a storm. Hardly had Lois left the 


230 


THE SWOEDMAKER'S SON 


roof before there was, far out on the water, a sound she 
could not hear. It only lasted for a few moments, and 
then the gale roared on, more loudly than before. 

There had come a terrible crash, first. One of the ships, 
driven by the fierce wind, was borne down upon another, 
with all the strength of the great billow that carried it. 
Then came shrieks and cries of men and women, for both 
ships were shattered in the collision, and the sea was 
quickly dotted with the heads of struggling swimmers. 

There were fewer, soon, for now and then one of them 
seized frantically upon another, so that both sank. 

Cyril was one of the passengers. He had clung to a 
piece of plank at the moment when the vessels came to- 
gether. He had been standing at the prow of the fore- 
most ship, peering out into the gloom. 

He was a good swimmer, and had instinctively swam 
apart from the rest. In only a few minutes he believed 
himself to be alone, and he said, aloud : 

Can I land through the surf ^ 

Help ! ” shouted a loud voice near him. “Hast thou 
a fioat ! ” 

“ Come ! ” said Cyril. “ I have one.” 

Soon a second pair of hands were on the plank, but it 
would not have supported the two men unless both had 
been strong swimmers. As it was, two were better than 
one to propel it to the land. 

“ I am Simon,” said the new-comer. “ I am of Cyrene. 


THE SHIPWRECK 


231 


Our craft was full of Passover pilgrims, and of all on 
board I think I alone am left.” 

Cyril gave his own name, and then added : 

After we sailed from Byzantium, I found I was on a 
pirate vessel. The pirates captured three merchant- ves- 
sels, and our ship was full of slaves — for all the captives 
were to be sold in Africa. They meant to sell me, too. 
But I hoped to escape, for they spoke of touching at 
Joppa.” 

Save your strength,” said Simon. I sailed from Gy- 
rene in the hope of seeing Jesus, the prophet of Galilee, 
at the Passover. I think yet that I shall see him and hear 
him. There ’s a light ! Swim ! ” 

I know him ! ” Cyril exclaimed. He is the King ! ” 
Cyril was swimming his best, and Simon was a large, 
powerful man. Their vigorous strokes sent the plank yet 
faster through the water. 

Beware of the surf ! ” cried Simon, and that was in- 
deed their danger as they neared the shore. 

Perhaps they could hardly have overcome it, if no help 
had come ; but the loud, clear voice of Simon made itself 
heard through the sound of the breakers. Then men 
came hurrying along the sand, for the Joppa people were 
used to wrecks and to rescuing those who came ashore. 

A rope ! ” shouted Simon ; but even as he spoke, a 
long line with a stone at the end of it came flying across 
the plank. 


232 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Only a slinger could have done that,” thought Cyril, 
as he caught it ; but the moment he and Simon made it 
fast, the Cyrenian hailed the shore with, Pull ! ” and the 
life-line drew them in. 

Oh, if it were but my son ! ” exclaimed Ezra. 

Father ! I am here ! ” 

Loud voices joined in Ezra, the ArmoreFs, cry of glad- 
ness and thanksgiving; but some of the men thanked Ju- 
piter, and Neptune, and Mercurius, and even Isis, as well 
as Jehovah, the Grod of the Jews — for there were many 
religions along the coast near Joppa. 

Cyril was soon rested sufficiently to walk, and he and 
his father went up the hill together, into the city. As for 
Simon, the big and burly Cyrenean said a hearty farewell 
to his young companion, and was then led away, in a kind 
of triumph, by a squad of Greek and Sidonian sailors, 
who said that Neptune had made them a present of him. 

Neither the Swordmaker nor his son found much to say 
on their way to the house. Nor was Lois talkative for a 
while after her joyful greeting. But after that the lamps 
in Tabitha^s large front room burned out and were filled 
again, and a second time burned low, before any of them 
tired of hearing the story of CyriPs adventures out in the 
world beyond the sea. It was long enough before he came 
to his escape from Ostia, the seaport of Rome, from the 
wrath of the disappointed gambler, Valerianus. 

“As Crispus bade me,” said Cyril, “I took passage on 
a ship just casting off at the pier. She was bound for 


THE SHIPWRECK 


233 


Massilia, in Gaul, and she made a quick voyage ; but be- 
fore we got there she was sold to some Phoenicians who 
were going to the island of Britain, after tin, I knew I 
would be safer with them, and so I went. I worked hard, 
for she was a trireme, and I took my turn with the row- 
ers to save money, and to keep the men from thinking I 
had any.^^ 

He told of many places passed on the voyage, and then 
he said : 

So we sailed out, between the pillars of Hercules, into 
the great ocean, with the war-galleys of the Roman gen- 
eral Demetrius.” 

‘‘You have seen the further ocean?” Ezra demanded. 

Solomon’s ships and Hiram’s, of Tyre, went there. Go 
on! Thou art the better fitted to be a servant of the 
King ! ” 

“We passed the cape at the end of the world and sailed 
away across the sea until we reached the harbor and city 
of Trinobantum, in Britain,” said Cyril. ‘- But I did not 
feel safe except upon the sea, and besides, I had no time 
to lose. So I sailed back, in another ship, to Malta — ” 
Oh, where have you not been ! ” exclaimed Lois, gaz- 
ing up into his face, admiringly. “You have seen the 
whole world.” 

Not many Jewish boys had seen so much of it, cer- 
tainly j for Cyril went on to tell of his drifting here and 
there, until he reached Byzantium and made a last effort 
to return to Joppa and Jerusalem. 


234 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


I think I should not be here/^ he said at last, if it 
had not been for the storm, and for Simon of Cyrene.” 

“ Sleep, now,” said his father. On the morrow we must 
all set out for Jerusalem. We shall be there in good sea- 
son. Verily, the God of our fathers, thy own God, has 
been with thee through all the way by which he has led 
thee, and he has brought thee back to me in peace! 
Glory to his name, forever ! Amen ! ” 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE COLT, THE FOAL OP AN ASS 
HREE days after Cyril^s arrival at Joppa, Ezra the 



JL Swordmaker stood just outside of the Jericho gate 
of Jerusalem, as the sun rose on the first day of the week. 

^^We must set out at once,’’ said Ezra, ^^for the mes- 
senger told me that the Master rested on the Sabbath at 
Bethany. He will reach the city to-day.” 

He is really coming ! ” said Lois, looking earnestly 
away down the road from Jericho. ‘^How glad I would 
be to see him again — and hear him speak ! ” 

Cyril said nothing, but his eyes were fiashing, and his 
sun-burned, handsome face wore a warlike expression. 
He was taller now, and stronger, than when he hurled 
stones at the Roman soldier across the swift torrent of 
the Kishon. 

Lois eagerly tripped forward along the shaded high- 
way. Village joined to village so closely that it all was 
really a part of Jerusalem, though outside of the gated 
walls. They had not walked very long before Cyril re- 
marked : 

^^This is Bethphage. I must go to the Cave of Adul- 
1am soon, and select a sword.” 


235 


236 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


“ The time is at hand/^ said his father. Many swords 
are ready. This is to be a week of great events. I think 
there has been no other like it.’^ 

At that very hour the Master was walking toward them, 
along the road from Jericho, pausing, as he walked, to 
open the eyes of the blind and to heal those who were 
sick. And on the way he told those with him of the 
things that were to come to pass before the sun should 
set upon another first day of the week. It was to be his 
own day, thenceforward, and all of them would then re- 
member and would tell one another how he had talked of 
these things before they came to pass. 

Ezra and his party had entered the village, and all the 
road behind them and all the way before was full of peo- 
ple, for there were many who had heard that the prophet 
of Galilee was coming. 

“ The street will soon be thronged,” said Ezra. They 
are taking those asses out of the way.” 

Two of the animals had been tethered before one of the 
houses, a she-ass and her full-grown colt. He was a 
large, fine-looking animal, such as brought a higher price 
than did most horses in the markets of Jerusalem, but at 
that moment two men who had come up the road were 
untying him. 

Cyril ! ” exclaimed Lois. “ Those are two of the 
twelve. Two of his disciples ! ” But before he could re- 
ply, somebody spoke from the door of the house : 

“What do ye, loosing the colt?” 


THE COLT, THE FOAL OF AN ASS 237 

The Master hath need of him/^ came back from the 
man who held the halter. 

Low bowed the speaker in the doorway, and the colt 
was taken. 

“ Come ! ” whispered Lois earnestly to Cyril. We will 
follow them.” 

But Cyril was stepping forward toward one of the dis- 
ciples, and had forgotten all else in the excitement of the 
moment. Off came his robe, a new abba he had bought 
in Jerusalem the previous evening, and he threw it over 
the back of the colt. Ezra and others did the same, and 
when, not many minutes later, the obedient animal was 
led through the throng around the Master, he was as if 
saddled. When mounted he seemed to need no bridle, 
for he turned and began to walk toward Jerusalem, car- 
rying Jesus of Nazareth. 

Close pressed the thousands who had already been fol- 
lowing. Every village was adding new swarms of young 
and old. From the now open gates of Jerusalem poured 
out increasing multitudes. Slowly stepped the colt, that 
required no guiding ; and on the highest point of the road, 
as it went over the ridge of the Mount of Olives, the ani- 
mal stood still, while his rider gazed long and wistfully 
at the splendors of the sunlit city. 

He is about to ride in,” thought Cyril. He will soon 
be crowned there and he will reign over all the world ! 
Even over great Rome ! I wish I dared ask him, or one 
of the twelve — ” but at that moment he felt the hand of 


13 


238 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


Lois on his arm, and her voice was hushed and awed as 
she murmured in his ear : 

Cyril, He is weeping ! 

Then he and all could hear the Master addressing the 
city in loud and earnest lamentations, as if foretelling 
some great woe that was shortly to come upon it. They 
heard, but they did not understand. Neither did Cyril, 
for he said to himself : 

Perhaps it is because there will be bloody fighting 
when the city is taken. I expected that.” 

On moved the vast procession, and soon the feet of the 
colt did not touch the earth because of the many abbas 
that were spread before him as he walked 5 and all the 
way was littered with the fresh-leaved branches of palm- 
trees. Palms, too, were carried by those in advance and 
those who followed, and chorus after chorus of praise to 
God, of thanksgiving, and even of triumphant expecta- 
tion of the new kingdom, arose like the songs and re- 
sponses in the Temple on a day of national rejoicing. 
Among them all there was one in which Cyril joined 
most heartily : 

“ Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of Jeho- 
vah ! Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest ! ” 

It meant, to him, all that he had so long been dreaming, 
but he saw that the face of his father was clouded. He 
heard Ezra mutter : 

The Master said that the men who would take Jeru- 
salem would not leave one stone upon another. Who 


THE COLT, THE FOAL OF AN ASS 


239 


then shall rebuild that he may reign there ? I fear that 
there are dark days coming for Israel.” 

Many, even of the Pharisees, carried away by the torrent 
of the Nazarene^s popularity, had gone out to meet him. It 
was from some of these that words of criticism came. 
They said to him, on the way, as they listened to the glad 
hosannas: 

Rabbi, rebuke thy disciples ! ” 

^^I tell you,” he replied, ^Hhat if these should hold their 
peace, the very stones would immediately cry out.” 

Louder and more exultingly rang the shouts of praise 
to God and of honor to the Son of David,” the prophet 
who had come at last. The whole city seemed to be pour- 
ing out to meet him. On, on, on, he rode, preceded and 
followed by the enthusiastic multitude through the gates 
and the city streets to the very Temple itself. 

Once more the outer court of the Temple had been turned 
into a general market-place, but when the Prophet of Gali- 
lee entered it now, he had no need to drive forth any of 
the dealers 5 his order for its cleansing was obeyed in 
haste. 

It is written,” he said, that my house shall be called 
a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.” 

It was no use for Cyril to try to keep close by his king. 
Not only were the disciples there, but also there came 
continual delegations of the most important men of the 
city. Still, as Cyril noticed, however great was the tu- 
mult and the enthusiasm, there was nothing hostile in it, 


240 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


nothiDg that at all disturbed the iron composure of the 
Roman guards, stationed in and about the Temple. 

Lois returned to the house of a friend of Tabitha, where 
she and Abigail were waiting for her, but Ezra and his 
son walked away, together, toward the pool of Siloam. 

Until the close of the day, Jesus of Nazareth continued 
in the Temple, and all that he said or did was peaceful, at 
the same time that he both defied and denounced the chief 
priests and the scribes and the Pharisees. When evening 
drew near, and before the gates were shut, he and the 
twelve disciples returned to Bethany. 

It was not strange that the Roman governor, Pontius, 
the spearman,’^ turned away in careless indifference 
when reports came to him of what appeared a mere differ- 
ence of opinion among the Jewish rabbis concerning some 
of their curious doctrines — of which he knew nothing 
whatever. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


BEFORE THE LAST PASSOVER 

T he whole city was moved when the shouting multi- 
tude marched up the Jericho road to Jerusalem, an- 
nouncing the arrival of the great prophet of Nazareth. 
His bitterest enemies understood that at that hour they 
were powerless against him. The hearts and hopes of all 
the people were set upon him, and year after year his 
work had become better known. All over the land, in 
cities and towns and hamlets, were large numbers of men 
and women whom he had helped with new health and life, 
while uncounted thousands had witnessed his good works 
and listened to his teachings. 

But now, at last, the very summit of his power and 
popularity seemed to be reached, and from this time on- 
ward there seemed, to his enemies, a rapid ebbing away. 

On the second day of the week, our Monday, the Mas- 
ter came in again from Bethany, and among those who 
met him before he reached the city were Ezra and Cyril, 
but there was now no throng, for his return had not been 
announced beforehand. 

They went with him to the Temple. The directions he 

241 


242 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


had given the previous day, for the clearing of the outer 
court, had been obeyed. The buyers and sellers and their 
merchandise had been expelled. The Court of the 
Heathen” was once more a house of prayer for all na- 
tions. Here the Master sat down and taught, and the 
blind and the lame came to him and he healed them — 
but this was not at all what a great many of his following, 
or even the patriotic multitude, had led themselves to 
expect. 

They came and lingered around him, and went away 
and came again. They heard what he said and they saw 
what he did, but even his denunciation of the Pharisees 
and scribes puzzled them. Were not the priests still to 
officiate in the Temple, after the Messiah should come to 
rule the world? What, too, were those strange things 
that were said about the destruction of Jerusalem and of 
the Temple itself ? 

Darker and darker grew their difficulties, from hour to 
hour. It puzzled Cyril, and something of faith or of en- 
thusiasm he was losing. It was not so with Ezra, per- 
haps because he was older; but Cyril noticed that his 
father was all the while in deep thought, and, at the close 
of that day, as they walked homeward, he said : 

My son, stay thou here, in the city. I go to the Cave, 
to see some of our friends, and I return at once. I wiU 
get thee a sword. I will not bring the King’s sword, now, 
but thou and I may have need of weapons.” 

Has the Master said anything ? ” asked Cyril 


BEFOEE THE LAST PASSOVEE 


243 


“ One of the Twelve told me/^ replied Ezra^ that he said, 
^ If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me ’ j but what 
he meant, I know not. Of this I am sure, that the God 
of Israel will tell him when to act and what to do.” 

The time is at hand, then ? ” persisted Cyril. 

“ This, too, I do not understand,” said his father. He 
hath said that in his battle for the Kingdom he must be 
slain and the third day rise again. It is a deep saying, 
but I have seen him raise the dead. Whatever is to come 
must come.” 

So Ezra went away, and Cyril went to have a talk with 
Lois, who was not at all troubled as were her father and 
brother. She had now to repeat to her brother something 
she had already told Abigail. 

“ Didst thou notice,” she had said, when we were in 
the Court of the Women, that the Master wore the abba 
we made in Capernaum, and the seamless vesture % I did, 
but I saw it upon him first when he was riding in on the 
colt.” 

Abigail had not failed to see, and she remarked : 

It was not our gift, Lois. I now know that the wife 
of Chusa, Herod’s steward, and the other women, have 
continually ministered unto him from their own prop- 
erty.” 

Lois was silent, for she strongly felt that her own small 
hands had worked upon that abba, and she had been 
proud to see the Master wearing it. 

There were many stories told, some of them very beau- 


244 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


tiful, of his kindness to women and children, and Lois 
had treasured them all. 

Cyril was now thinking of what his father had said to 
him, for Ezra was not only an old experienced soldier, 
hut a Jew. Jesus will be compelled to wait,” Ezra had 
said. He cannot attempt anything until after the Pass- 
over, and then not until after the Sabbath. Our best men 
would not rally on the feast-days nor on a Sabbath.” 

Cyril, therefore, was waiting wearily and impatiently. 
The Passover was not to be eaten until the fifth day of 
the week, or Thursday, at night. During the fourth day, 
nearly all day long, Jesus continued in the Temple, teach- 
ing. It seemed to some who heard him that his words 
were more wonderful than ever before. In the morning 
hour, as he sat in the Court of the Women, opposite the 
treasury chests into which many who came were casting 
their voluntary contributions, he had said of one poor 
woman who gave only two small mites, that she had given 
more than all the rest. It was so hard to understand a 
great many of the things he said, that Cyril had pressed 
nearer, through the throng. Lois had followed, until she 
and her brother were side by side, close to Mary, the 
mother of Jesus, and Mary of Magdala. 

He was now speaking again, and his voice seemed to 
fill the open spaces of the temple and to find its way to 
the ears of all the crowds that filled the porches and the 
courts. The voice was so powerful, so full of pathos and 
of pleading, that all other sounds were hushed. Could 


BEFORE THE LAST PASSOVER 


245 


he be in pain ? In suffering ? He certainly was not now 
speaking to the people, for he was looking upward. 

Lois,” said Cyril, but her hand on his arm silenced 
him, and she was gazing upon the face of the Master. 

Now is my soul troubled,” they heard him cry out. 

And what shall I say ? Father save me from this hour 
— But for this cause came I unto this hour. — Father! 
Glorify thy name ! ” 

All through the temple sounded the strange prayer of 
the prophet of Galilee, and the people held their breath 
for a moment. Then came, through the corridor and 
porch and court, an utterance so wonderful that many 
cowered in sudden terror, exclaiming that it thundered, 
while those who were nearer said to one another : 

An angel spoke to him ! ” for the words of the sound 
could both be heard and recorded : 

I have both glorified it and will glorify it again ! ” 

“This voice came not because of me, but for your 
sakes,” said Jesus, but, as he talked on, Cyril crept si- 
lently away and so did many others. He had a fright- 
ened feeling that he could not bear to hear any more. 

“ Something great and terrible is surely coming ! ” he 
said to himself, “when the angels of God speak to us. 
Father must know this.” 

It was not until evening that Ezra and Cyril met, ac- 
cording to their appointment, near the Pool of Siloam. 
Cyril had many things to tell, and his father heard him 
in silence, but, at the end of it all, he said : 


246 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


I reached the city hours ago, and I have been with 
the disciples. We must watch now. Herod has at last 
determined to slay him. So have the high priests. They 
are the rulers of the people — 

I am not with them ! ” sprang to the lips of Cyril. 

I am not with the priests and rabbis. I am with the 
Christ, the King ! I have heard God speak to him in the 
temple ! ” 

Ezra rose to his feet. 

I also am with him ! ” he answered. But his ene- 
mies follow him closely. He is even now concealing 
himself — ” 

They will find out where he is to eat the Passover,’’ 
said Cyril. Then they can seize him and the Twelve. 
He must have chosen the place days ago, and many must 
know it.” 

So I thought,” replied Ezra, but the Twelve said not 
so. Not until to-morrow will they or anybody else know 
where the Passover is to be eaten by Jesus of Nazareth. 
Only the Twelve will know, even then, lest he should be 
betrayed to those who seek his life. They know, as well 
as we do, that after the Feast and the Sabbath he will be 
free to act.” 

So reasoned Ezra and his son, and so had reasoned and 
plotted the enemies of Jesus. 

“We will eat our own Passover,” said Ezra, finally, 
“ and then we wiU go out and watch. I gave my own 
sword to Peter. He asked for it; he had none. The 


BEFORE THE LAST PASSOVER 


247 


sword I had meant for thee I gave to Andrew. They will 
all the while be with him. We can go unarmed now, but 
I think the servants of the King may be ready with 
shield and blade upon the first day of the week. The 
Passover Lamb must be slain, and after that he will enter 
into his kingdom.” 

So spoke the old swordmaker, and a great longing 
arose in Cyril’s soul. 

“We must wait,” he said; “but I shall be ready to 
march with him when he calls for me, — on the first day 
of the week.” 


CHAPTER XXXII 


GETHSEMANE 

I T was late in the Passover night. All through Jeru- 
salem, all over the world, wherever there were Jews, 
those who had eaten the Pascal lamb had arisen from the 
sacred feast. For the gi’eater part, they remained in their 
houses, or went only short distances to other houses, or in 
and about Jerusalem, to the booths and tents provided 
for pilgrims. Rarely had these been so numerous, for 
men had come from all over the world to hear and see the 
new Teacher, the Prophet of Galilee. 

Out of one house came two who went in haste, and one 
said to the other : My son, we did well to watch when 
he came in. Now that we know where to seek him, let 
us not be too late. He will not stay in the city, for they 
will take him.” 

“Father!” suddenly exclaimed the other. “Look yon- 
der ! There are torches and armed men. They are com- 
ing from the house of the High Priest. They are the 
priests and the captains of the temple, and the elders ! ” 
He paused, while around a corner of massive masonry 
near them marched a motley throng which seemed to 
pour out curses as it came. 


248 


THE THRONG THAT WAS LED BY JUDAS 






GETHSEMANE 


251 


Cyril ! exclaimed Ezra, Seest thou that man with 
the torch? It is Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve! The 
Master is betrayed ! Oh, that we could warn him 1 

They could not! They did not know, as Judas did, 
that Jesus had appointed the shadowy garden of Geth- 
semane as the place of his last hour of agony and prayer 
and communion with the men he loved, before he should 
be given up to death. AU that Ezra and his son could 
do was to follow the throng that was led by Judas. 

On went the traitor and those who were mth him, 
through the eastern gate, opened for them by its guards, 
and out toward the Mount of Olives. On went Ezra and 
Cyril, almost as if they were themselves members of 
the band of men who were seeking the life of Jesus of 
Nazareth. 

If they succeed,” groaned Cyril, “ if they should take 
him, what will then become of the Kingdom ? ” 

No answer came, for Ezra was striding forward, his 
right hand working almost convulsively, as if he longed 
to grapple an enemy or grasp a weapon. 

In strong contrast with that tumultuous rush of angry 
men, through the streets of the city and out across the 
Kidron, was one shaded spot upon the Mount of Olives. 

Three men who lay there had been overcome more by 
grief and anxiety than by bodily fatigue, and they were 
sound asleep although they had been bidden to wait there 
and to pray. At no great distance from them, in one direc- 
tion, waited eight others, who seemed to be awake but 


252 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


silent, while at a stone^s cast in the opposite direction 
knelt one who was all alone. 

He had been praying again and again, each time return- 
ing to find those men asleep, to waken them, to then go 
and pray once more. 

The third time, when he came back to waken them, he 
again upbraided them gently, but added : 

It is enough. The hour is come. Behold the Son of 
Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise. Let 
us be going. — Behold he that betrayeth me is at hand.’^ 

Whatever was yet to come, that night or afterward, 
was to him the fulfilment, the actual endurance, of what 
he already knew and felt beforehand, as he had often told 
not only the Twelve but many others, who could not grasp 
the meaning of what he said. 

Not many minutes later, the stream of men with torches, 
staves, and swords, went up the slope at a point directly 
across the valley from the temple, and poured in among 
the trees and vines of Gethsemane. 

Cyril knew at once that Judas had guided only too well, 
and the son of Ezra saw rather than heard, for all his soul 
was in a tumult of dismay. 

He saw the Master stand as if waiting, and he saw 
Judas press forward to greet him with a kiss. Then he 
saw the sword of Peter fiash from its sheath and strike 
one blow, giving a wound which the Master at once 
touched and healed, as he said to Peter : 

Suffer ye thus far. Put up thy sword into its sheath. 


GETHSEMANE 


253 


The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink 
itr^ 

The armed men stepped forward, but the disciples had 
fallen away, at that moment, from around the King, and 
he stood alone, in the glare of many torches. So majestic, 
so kingly a presence was it that those who came to take 
him reeled backward and then fell upon their faces. 

They arose and again rushed forward, while all the dis- 
ciples turned and fled, and Cyril gasped in terror : 

They have taken him ! ” 

The Jewish priests would not have been permitted to 
go with their servants armed through the streets of Jeru- 
salem, by either day or night, nor would the gate have 
been opened for them had they been unaccompanied. The 
real arresting force had therefore been a strong party of 
Roman legionaries from the temple guard. These were 
the very men who had been so overcome by the more 
than earthly majesty of their intended captive, and now 
they acted as a protecting escort while they led him back 
across the Kidron and into the city. The officer in com- 
mand of them, as Cyril knew, was responsible for the 
safety of J esus until he should deliver him to the authori- 
ties. Cyril therefore breathed more freely as he marched 
along with them into the city and up the street which led 
to the princely house of Annas, the father-in-law of Cai- 
aphas, the high priest, to whom the flrst report of the 
arrest of J esus was, for some reason, to be made. 

All who could manage to do so, and many had joined 


254 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


on the way, pushed through the ample portal into the 
great hall where Annas, in a kind of vindictive triumph, 
waited for the prisoner. 

There is John,” said Cyril to himself. And there is 
Peter, pretending to warm himself by the brazier. Not 
another man of the Twelve is here. Father is not here.” 

In every direction, as he glanced around, were only 
angry and scowling faces, or else those whose open exul- 
tation more plainly declared the spirit that brought them. 
The Master was before his accusers, deserted by his fol- 
lowers. 

Cyril himself was thinking ; 

There is nothing that I can do ! ” when he suddenly 
felt as if something had stung him, and he came near 
speaking aloud : Oh, they have struck him ! ” 

All in that chamber had been humiliated by the blow 
except the unflinching majesty which had been smitten. 
Cyi’il was not looking at others, to see how they felt, but 
at the servants of Annas, who were now tying the hands 
of Jesus, as those of an accused criminal, to lead him 
away to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas. 

“ I will be there before them,” exclaimed Cyril, turning 
to hasten toward the door, but a voice at his side re- 
sponded : 

Thou here ? I had hoped to see thee again. It was 
in his name that thou didst set me free in the Arena. 
I heard of him again, both at Rome and at Athens. I 
came to Jerusalem to see and hear him — ” 


GETHSEMANE 


255 


“ He was my King ! ” gasped Cyril. Oh, Apollos ! — 
he is the Messiah that was to come, and they will slay 
him ! 

I fell, when the rest did, in the garden,” said Apollos, 
as they hurried on, side by side. Tallienns commands 
the new legion, — the garrison of the city, — and I, though 
I am now free, was with him when he ordered the guard 
for the chief priests. My own people murdered Socrates 
for speaking the truth. I think the Jews will slay this 
prophet, for I heard him say, in the Temple, ‘ I am the 
truth.' I believe he is. He set me free. Come. Thou 
art a J ew, and I am a Greek, but he is my King as much 
as he is thine. Let us see what will be the end.” 

So the two who had raced for the prize before the 
Emperor in the Roman amphitheater, ran now, and were 
among the first arrivals at the house of Annas to enter 
the ample audience-room in the palace of Caiaphas, the 
High Priest. 

It was something more than a mere popular assembly 
that had gathered there. Had Cyril and Apollos been a 
moment later, they might not have gained admission, for 
they went in with some of the most distinguished mem- 
bers of the Sanhedrim, the great council of the Jewish 
nation, and shortly afterward the doors were closed 
against the multitude. 

It was an exceedingly dignified, pompous tribunal, a 
kind of senate, and the High Priest sat as its presiding 
official. Before him, calm and utterly silent, stood Jesus 


14 


256 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


of Nazareth, while the witnesses attempted to give some 
reason known to the laws why he should be arrested or 
punished. No questioning drew from him a word of 
comment or response, while the conflicting witnesses, one 
after another, broke down in their too w;illing testimony. 

They must let him go,’^ thought Cyril. He has done 
no wrong.” 

But at that moment the High Priest himself arose and 
stepped forward, confronting the prisoner, and said : 

adjure thee, by the living God, that thou tell us 
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God ! ” 

Cyril’s heart seemed to stop beating^ for a new and tre- 
mendous thought that had been dawming upon him was 
now taking a shape he had never dreamed of. 

In truth,” whispered ApoUos, he is not a man. He 
is one of the gods.” 

For ApoUos was a Greek, a heathen, and his people be- 
lieved that their divinities sometimes visited the earth. 

Deep, hushed, awful, was the stillness over the Sanhe- 
drim, as they listened for the reply to the question of the 
High Priest. It came distinctly, in words which sent a 
thrill through all who heard : 

I am. And hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sit- 
ting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds 
of Heaven.” 

The High Priest rent his clothes, and loudly exclaimed : 

^^What need have we of further witness? Ye have 
heard the blasphemy ? What think ye ? ” 

Angry responses from aU sides declared that the bias- 


GETHSEMANE 


257 


phemer must be put to death ; but only one authority in 
Jerusalem could inflict the death-penalty. The offender 
must, therefore, go before the Roman governor. Fii-st, 
however, while the leaders prepared to take him there, 
others vented their fanatical spite upon their unresisting 
victim. 

Let us be the fii’st at Pilate’s house,” said Apollos, in 
a low voice j and Cyril turned away, feeling almost as if 
the earth were going out from under his feet. 

It is all over,” he said. They will imprison Jesus as 
they did John.” 

No,” exclaimed Apollos, as they hurried onward. No 
prison could contain him. I heard him say it — he is the 
son of God ! ” 

Many things had been said which Cyril had heard but 
could not now recall, and he was only looking forward to 
what might be the next scene in that dreadful night. It 
was now, indeed, no longer reaUy night, but in the dawn- 
ing of the sixth day of the week — our Friday. It was 
still one of the festival days, and no member of the San- 
hedrim would have entered the house of a heathen, like 
Pilate, for fear of becoming thereby unclean, unfit for 
entering the temple. 

It was for this reason that Pilate, notified of what was 
coming, had ordered his throne-chair of judgment brought 
out to a spot called Sabbatha, from its ornamental “ pave- 
ment,” in front of his palace portal. 

Here he now sat, and before him came the Jewish 
notables, bringing with them their prisoner. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 

I T was^ indeed, an imposing spectacle, that court be- 
fore the splendid palace of the Roman ruler of Judea. 
It was, nevertheless, a great piece of hypocrisy. Pilate, 
sitting in the Judge’s seat, knew very weU the true nature 
of the case brought before him. The course pursued by 
Jesus of Nazareth year after year, all over the land, had 
been known of aU men. Pilate was entirely willing, how- 
ever, to see and hear a person so celebrated as the Gali- 
lean prophet. There were political reasons why he was 
willing, at that time, to please the Jewish priests and 
people. 

So there he sat and listened, while members of the San- 
hedrim presented, with their prisoner, their formal accu- 
sation : 

We found him perverting the nation and forbidding 
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is the 
Christ, a King.” 

‘^Art thou the King of the Jews?” said Pilate, to the 
prisoner. 

Thou sayest !” was the Master’s response, as if he had 
said, “ I am.” 


258 


THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 


259 


Immediately Pilate arose from his chair, and the two 
went into the palace together, out of the hearing of all 
who stood around the judgment-seat. 

After a few moments of suspense, during which scarce 
any audible words were exchanged by those who were 
waiting, the two came out again, and then Pilate spoke : 

‘‘ I find no fault in this man.” 

CyriPs heart leaped gladly for a moment, and he heard 
Apollos mutter : 

“After all, the Roman law has something of justice in it.” 

But loud, fierce, angry, threatening in its tone, was the 
response of a white-robed rabbi, who now stood forth iu 
front of the rest : 

“ He stirreth up the people, teaching through all Jewry^ 
beginning from Galilee, to this place ! ” 

The face of Pilate was crafty as well as cruel, and there 
came a change in it as he heard Ben Nassur speak of 
Galilee. 

“ He belongs to Herod^s jurisdiction,” he said. “ I will 
send him to Herod, for his decision.” 

Herod had no power to inflict capital punishment in 
Judea, but the responsibility was to be shifted. 

It was not difficult for Cyril and his friend, less digni- 
fied than their elders, to speedily reach the palace, where 
Herod maintained a kind of royal state during the Feast. 
He, too, had been notified, and was waiting in his judg- 
ment-hall the arrival of the escort which Pilate sent with 
Jesus and the priestly accusers who came with him. 


260 


THE SWOEDMAKER^S SON 


Herod had slain John in the dungeon of the Black 
Castle, but this prophet of Galilee he had never seen. 
His face wore an attentive look as the throng poured in 
and its numbers took the places which their rank or as- 
sumed duty assigned to them. Certainly nothing was 
lacking of external pomp, and state, and splendor, in the 
appointments of Herod’s hall and throne of public au- 
dience. Jewels and gold and royal robes and armed 
guards and the assured appearance of conscious power 
over the lives of men, all these were there, with Herod, 
and not in all the world were there men of more personal 
dignity than belonged to the Jewish rulers who now stood 
before him as accusers of the prisoner sent to him by 
Pontius Pilate. Nevertheless, not only did this pomp fail 
to be regarded by the prisoner, but even in the eyes of 
others it was shorn of its ordinary effect. 

The real royalty, the one manifest greatness in that 
hall, stood all alone before them. He was in plain cloth- 
ing, bareheaded, but he was kinglier than the king, as he 
listened in undisturbed silence to the many questions put 
to him, loftily, at first, then angrily, by Herod himself. 

Not a word of response was made to either accusation 
or inquiries. To Herod’s disappointment, there was no 
exhibition of the superhuman power concerning which 
the murderer of John the Baptizer had heard so much. 
At last it became plain that Pilate’s cunning attempt to 
rid himself of a troublesome case had failed, although he 


THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 


261 


had succeeded in pleasing Herod by a semblance of def- 
erence to his authority over Galileans. The whole mat- 
ter must therefore be referred back to Roman jurisdiction. 

So Cyril himself understood, half gladly, even while 
the wrath and disappointment of Herod and his officers 
broke out in fierce derision of the ‘‘ pretended King,” as 
they called him. A King, they scornfully said, should 
have a better robe than the plain abba he was wearing, 
and so, as they sent him away, they threw over it one 
gorgeous in tints and embroidery upon its ground of 
royal white, from the wardrobes of the palace. He was 
not crowned as yet, but upon him had been placed the 
raiment which, by old tradition, belonged only to Hebrew 
royalty, to the princes of the house of David. 

Once more did Pontius Pilate come out to sit in the 
chair of judgment at the Pavement. Once more the ac- 
cused Prophet of Galilee stood before him, the royal robe 
he wore neither adding to nor taking from the majesty of 
his serene, undisturbed demeanor. His head was not 
bowed, nor did his lips open to utter a word. 

No one knew what had been going on in the mind of 
Pilate, nor what motive he might have for wishing to 
spare his prisoner. But Cyril now heard him once again 
declare his first decision that he found no fault in Jesus ; 
he added that Herod also had sent him back uncondemned. 
Therefore, as it was an honored custom to release one 
important prisoner at the Passover Feast, he would but 


1 


262 THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 

scourge him and let him go. What was called Roman 
justice could do no more for a man whose innocence was 
admitted. 

Scourging, for the King ? ” shuddered Cyril j but at 
that moment there arose a cry of many voices, acting on 
a quick suggestion by the accusers : 

Not this man, but Barabbas ! ” 

^^What?” thought Cyril, ^‘the robber instead of the 
Christ ? ” 

Then Pilate added, as they called loudly for Barabbas : 

“ What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called the 
Christ?” 

Not till that very moment had Cyril understood how 
deep and deadly was the enmity which had been growing 
during all the years of the Master’s open condemnations 
of the priests and rabbis, the scribes and Pharisees, their 
teachings and their works. There had been a war, long 
and severe, waged without swords or armor, and it was a 
war of life and death. The old evils or the new good 
must perish. Hot and fierce was therefore the fanatical 
zeal of Isaac Ben Nassur, as his stentorian lungs sent 
forth the cry caught up and repeated by so many : 

Crucify him ! Crucify him ! ” 

Cyril heard other words around him. He heard Pilate 
speak again, and the priests and rulers replying. He 
knew that Jesus had again been taken into the palace 
but knew not what there had passed between him and 
Pilate. 


THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 


263 


“ He is coming now ! ’’ exclaimed ApoUos at his side, 
and in a moment more they saw Jesus standing near the 
judgment seat. 

Behold your King ! said Pilate, and then loud shouts 
replied : 

Away with him ! Crucify him ! ” 

He once more almost pleaded for his prisoner : 

Shall I crucify your King ! ’’ 

The tumult deepened; the outcries became more sedi- 
tious ; and the weakness of Pilate’s cruel, selfish nature 
yielded to the clamor of the bloodthirsty rabble. 

He is delivered up to be crucified ! ” cried Cyril. 

Come ! said ApoUos. They are leading him forth.” 

Cyril hardly knew how ApoUos led him, but in a min- 
ute more they were in the great haU of the palace which 
was known as the praetorium. 

The soldiers of Rome, mere swordsmen who knew no 
mercy, were having their own way, now, in a kind of bru- 
tal sport with their prisoner. They removed the royal 
robe of Judah, and then his own simple clothing was re- 
moved that the heavy scourge reserved for malefactors 
might fall on the bare back. Ruthlessly feU the rain of 
cutting lashes, till the punishment number of them was 
fuU. 

Equally cruel hands were meanwhUe plaiting, with 
twigs from the thorn-tree of Canaan, a torturing imita- 
tion of an imperial crown. 

The scourging ceased; the crown of thorns was forced 


264 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


down upon the kingly head ; the seamless robe and abba 
were replaced. Over them, now, however, was thrown, 
in mockery, not the white broidery of Judean Kings, but 
the rich, deep-tinted purple robe of Roman empire — of 
the empire of the world. 

Insult followed insult; mockery on mockery; while 
Cyril writhed in agony, as if the sharp strokes were fall- 
ing on himself. 

“ Come ! ” said ApoUos. They are leading him 
away ! ” 

The streets of Jerusalem were already thronged, and 
all knew what was going forward. Not the enemies only 
of the Prophet of Galilee were in the long, mournful pro- 
cession which now marched with him out through the 
Joppa gate; multitudes had preceded it, for Golgotha, 
^Ghe place of a skull,” was the usual place for public 
executions. 

Before one doorway Cyril paused and Apollos with 
him, for it was fuU of weeping women, to whom he hur- 
riedly related all he had seen and heard. With them 
were many of their friends — women from Nazareth and 
from the Chinnereth shore. Even while Cyril was speak- 
ing, the heavy tread of a band of Roman legionaries came 
down the street, while walking among them was one on 
whom the eyes in the doorway looked, but could hardly 
see for weeping. 

My son,” said a speaker behind Cyril, “ he is bearing 
his own cross — ” 


THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 


265 


Would I could bear it for him ! ” exclaimed Lois, and 
Cyril replied : 

He has fallen ! Look ! Wlio is that ? ” 

No man would have been permitted to break the serried 
ranks and help the fainting Master, but that the soldiers 
themselves were loth to be impeded, and they had seized 
upon a sturdy man who had been pressing too close that 
he might stare, wonderingly, at Jesus of Nazareth. On 
him they bound the pieces of wood that were to form the 
cross, and Cyril, as he looked again, exclaimed : 

‘^It is Simon of Cyrene. He swam ashore with me. 
He came to see the King.’^ 

He has seen him,” said Ezra, reverently. “ Let us go 
out to Golgotha.” 

It was by no means easy to follow closely, so dense was 
the throng. Other parties of soldiers tramped behind the 
first, for two thieves were to suffer, at the same time and 
place. Each of these carried, hung around his neck, a 
whitened board, on which was written his name and the 
nature of his offense. Another had been provided for 
J esus, but Cyril did not then see it. 

In fact, he could hardly see anything or think anything, 
for all the hope and enthusiasm of his young life seemed 
to be dying away from him. Even ApoUos was steadier j 
but then he was not a Jew, and he had not been dream- 
ing, year after year, of the new kingdom, and of the com- 
ing of the conquering King, the promised Messiah, the 
Son of David. 


266 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


The place of execution was reached, a kind of knoll, 
just off the Joppa highway, where the crowds who con- 
tinually came and went might not only see those who suf- 
fered, but take wholesome warnings of the power and 
severity of the Roman authorities. 

Lois was vaguely aware that she heard a sound of ham- 
mering, as of men who were driving heavy spikes. She 
knew that her father and brother had thrown themselves 
upon the ground, and that all her women friends had cov- 
ered their heads j but after that, it was all so silent for a 
moment, that she looked up, timidly. 

Three crosses arose from the top of the little hill, and 
from the central cross came a voice full of pleading, that 
said: 

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do!’^ 

Near the foot of the cross were four Roman soldiers 
who had been stationed there as a guard. They were 
talking, almost disputing, about something, and Lois 
turned to look at them. 

They were drawing lots for the seamless vesture which 
had been sent to him, and they had already torn up the 
abba. Small indeed was the impression made upon their 
hardened natures by so ordinary an affair as a crucifixion. 

Worse than theirs, even, seemed the hardness of some 
who called themselves Jews, for they stood before the 
cross and hurled derisive taunts upon the sufferer who 
had healed so many other sufferers. The very inscription 



I 


ft 




k 


f 


fr. 










THE CROSS AND THE CROWN 


269 


above his head seemed to arouse or increase their bitter- 
ness, for Pilate had written it, in Latin, in Greek and in 
Hebrew : 

This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’^ 

The purple robe had long since been taken from him, 
but still he wore the crown — the crown of thorns. 

It was high noon and the sun poured hotly down upon 
the uncovered flesh of the men upon the crosses. It was 
said that no other torment equaled the intolerable thirst 
of crucifixion. 

Swift death could not come, and the sultry, feverish, 
merciless hours dragged slowly by. 

There was more mockery, more railing, and several 
times the Master spoke, with a wonderful calmness, to one 
of his disciples, to his mother and to the other women, and 
even to one of the criminals who were crucified with him. 

“ My son ! ” Cyril turned from a long gaze at the crown 
of thorns, for Ezra was leaning over him. I must go. 
The centurion yonder is Regulus, who commanded in 
Samaria. Stay, thou, but know thou this that I heard 
from one who was in the palace: The Master said to 
Pilate : ^ My kingdom is not of this world, else would my 
servants fight. I am a King.^ Cyril, son of mine, I must 
go j but only to wait for his other kingdom. I believe 
that I begin to understand better than I did.” 

Ezra was gone, and it was only a moment later when 
Jesus exclaimed : 

I thirst ! ” 


270 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


As if he had been waiting for some service, Apollos 
darted away to where stood a jar of vinegar and by it a 
sponge at the end of a reed, such as was provided by the 
merciful women of Jerusalem for all who were crucified. 
He was filling the sponge, when the lips of the sufferer 
opened again, and with a loud and terrible cry : 

My God ! My God ! Why hast thou forsaken me ? ” 
To those who understood the tongue in which he spoke, 
the first words sounded like the name of the prophet 
Elijah, and, as Apollos hurried forward, they shouted to 
him : 

Let alone ! Let us see if Elijah will come to save him ! 
Neither did the young Greek understand them, but he 
pressed the cooling liquid upon the parched lips, for a 
moment. Then he drew back, for yet another cry of 
agony burst forth, and with it the words : 

Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! ’’ 

So saying, he bowed his head and all seemed over 5 but 
now, although no clouds had arisen, a great and awful 
darkness swept across the sky. The earth beneath them 
shook and trembled as if in horror of that which had been 
done, and great rocks by the roadside were cloven to their 
bases, while in the Temple itself, the vast veil before the 
holy of holies was rent in twain. 

“ Truly,” spoke the deep voice of the centurion, this 
was the Son of God ! ” 

But all others only smote their breasts and hastened 
away in terror towards Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


AFTER THE RESURRECTION 

T he next day was the Sabbath and a deep stillness, as 
of fear, seemed to have settled over Jerusalem. An 
awful deed had been done, and men were whispering to 
one another concerning the signs which had accompanied 
it — the darkness and the earthquake and the rending of 
the veil, and concerning the last woes spoken of by the 
crucified Prophet of Galilee. 

Abigail, Tabitha, and their friends, were ouly waiting 
for the morrow, to return to Joppa, but Lois had been 
provided for, as had Cyril, in the house of one of Ezra^s 
friends, an old disciple of John the Baptizer. 

“ We will remain in Jerusalem, for a season,” said Ezra 
to Cyril and Lois. ^‘We must have courage and wait. 
The kingdom will surely come, and he said it was at hand. 
I believe him.” 

So did his children, and yet all hope of it seemed gone. 
Perhaps the old swordmaker could not clearly have 
told them what he meant or what he expected, but every 
now and then he looked at his right hand, and his face 
always brightened when he did so. 

271 


272 


THE SWORDMAKEE’S SON 


They knew already that the body of Jesus had been 
placed, by Joseph of Arimathea, in his own rock-hewn 
tomb, in a garden at no great distance from Golgotha, or, 
as the Romans called it, Calvary/^ They also knew that 
a guard of Roman soldiers kept ceaseless watch by the 
tomb, lest the disciples of Jesus should steal the body 
away and then assert that he had risen from the dead. 

There was little or nothing to be done on the Sabbath, 
except to wait, and to weep at thinking of what the Master 
had suffered on the cross. 

There was a kind of revengeful triumph, too, in the 
feelings of the enemies of Jesus; but the chief priests and 
their followers, and such men as Isaac Ben Nassur, were 
tormented by a dread lest something, they knew not what, 
was yet to come. It was from this that the caution came 
which made them obtain a guard of legionaries for the 
tomb of Jesus ; and all his friends, especially his disciples, 
were aware that violent measures were planned against 
them. They were therefore concealing themselves, al- 
though not altogether debarred from coming and going 
among those who were in sympathy with them. 

The Sabbath passed, the first day of the week came, 
and still a troubled, uncertain state of mind seemed to 
weigh down Ezra the Swordmaker and keep him from at- 
tempting anything. The morning hours went by, and 
still he sat gloomily in the house with his children. That 
is, with Cyril, whenever his impatience would let him 
keep still, for Lois did better. and took her part in house- 


AFTER THE RESURRECTION 


273 


hold duties. It was a little after noon, therefore, when 
Cyril was summoned to the outer door. He opened it 
and uttered a loud exclamation, for there stood ApoUos, 
his face all radiant, like that of a bearer of good tidings. 

Oh, my friend,” he said, thy King is risen ! ” And 
then, in quick excited sentences, he told a story of women 
who had been early at the tomb, and some of the disci- 
ples ; and how the guard had fled in fear of an angel who 
came and rolled away from the sepulcher the stone that 
closed its door. The women flrst, and then the disciples, 
had not only seen the risen Jesus, but had spoken with 
him. 

Oh, that I might see him again ! ” exclaimed Cyril. 

They know me not,” said ApoUos, and I cannot join 
their company. Neither must thou, except secretly, for 
Valerianus is here, and he might do thee a mischief if he 
found thee. He is a man who never forgets or forgives.” 

Ezra had come out and had listened. 

I beUeve it I ” he shouted. I go to the Cave and to 
our friends. I wiU return before next Sabbath. My son, 
thou wUt be safer in one of the viUages than in the city. 
I wiU send thee out to Emmaus with my friend Cleopas. 
Thou knowest him.” 

Cyril might have preferred remaining in the city, but 
he knew that his father’s counsel was best. Before long, 
he was on his way and beyond the city walls. His com- 
panion, Cleopas, an old disciple of John the Baptizer, was 
the very man with whom he could talk most freely con- 

15 


274 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


cerning his life-long dream of the King and the new 
Kingdom, and of how it had been shattered. 

It was a kind of mournful comfort to recall the words 
and works of the Master, and even to rehearse the mar- 
vels which had attended the crucifixion. Most marvelous 
of all, most impossible to make real, was this last won- 
der, told to them that day. 

“ Apollos said,” remarked Cyril, “ that after we all fled, 
on the sixth day, one of the soldiers plunged a spear into 
his side, to make sure that he was dead. How can he 
have risen again ? ” 

As if it would have been easier, if, like Lazarus or the 
young man at Nain, the Master had died in the ordinary 
way, not torn with spikes nor pierced by the broad blade 
of a Roman pilum. 

Heavier grew their hearts and slower, more thought- 
ful, their long walk through the winding valley and over 
the hills between Jerusalem and Emmaus. 

Of course, they met with many wayfarers and many 
more, upon more pressing business, passed them j but one 
of these, at last, a stranger who caught up with them, 
seemed in no more haste than were they themselves. It 
seemed to Cyril that his heart was too full to speak to 
any man, but the stranger greeted them with a very win- 
ning courtesy. 

What manner of communications are these things,” 
he asked, that ye have one to another, as ye walk and 
are sad ? ” 


AFTER THE RESURRECTION 


275 


They stood still, looking sad enough, but Cleopas 
seemed even to feel a little nettled by such a question 
and he responded quickly : 

Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not 
known the things that are come to pass there, in these 
days ? ” 

‘‘ What things ? again asked the stranger. 
Concerning Jesus of Nazareth,” replied Cleopas, 

which was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before 
God and all the people : and how the chief priests and 
our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, 

and have crucified him ” 

But we trusted,” exclaimed Cyril, “ that it should be 
he which should have redeemed Israel.” 

^^And beside all this,” continued Cleopas, “it is now 
the third day since these things were done. Yea, and 
certain women also of our company made us astonished, 
which were early at the sepulcher j and when they found 
not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen 
a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And 
certain of them that were with us went to the sepulcher 
and found it even so as the women had said, but him 
they saw not.” 

“ O fools,” exclaimed the stranger, “ and slow of heart 
to believe all that the prophets have spoken : ought not 
Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into 
his glory ? ” 

He was evidently a man learned in the Scriptures, for 


276 


THE SWORDMAKER’S SON 


he began, as they now resumed their walk, a series of 
quotations, from the books of Moses onward to the latest 
prophets, all of which, as he brought them out and ex- 
plained them, seemed to tell the story of Jesus of Naza- 
reth, to the very hour when the Romans crucified him. 
It all seemed clear to Cyril, and he wondered that he had 
not understood it before. The time slipped by them un- 
observed, and the sun was low in the sky when they 
entered Emmaus. They reached the house which was 
the temporary home of Cleopas, and the stranger ceased 
to speak. He would even have walked on if Cleopas and 
Cyril had not urgently invited him to come in. 

It was time for the evening meal and it was put out 
upon the table for the refreshment of the arrivals from 
J erusalem, but there was a gloomy air in the house, for 
all its inmates were mourning over what had been done 
at Calvary. 

No ordinary man had been this rabbi who had talked 
with them on their way. It had been easy for Cleopas 
and his young friend to take instruction from their 
manifest elder and superior, who was evidently, also, so 
strongly in accord with them. So they reclined at the 
table, with their guest in the place of honor. Imme- 
diately he took in his hand a loaf of bread and blessed it 
and broke it, and gave to each of them one of the pieces. 

For one brief moment they gazed at him. in glad, aston- 
ished recognition. 

‘^It is the Master!” said something in the heart of 


AFTER THE RESURRECTION 


277 


Cyril, although he did not speak. Then they saw him no 
more, for he had vanished out of their sight. 

^^Did not our hearts burn within us,^^ said Cleopas, 
while he talked with us on the way, and while he 
opened to us the scriptures f 
Cyril was silent, but he arose at once and so did Cleo- 
pas. They did but pause long enough to give to all in 
the house the tidings they had brought with them, and 
then they set out for Jerusalem. 

must hasten to tell his disciples,^^ said Cleopas, 
as they walked rapidly onward. 

I must tell Lois and the women and Apollos,’^ replied 
Cyril, ^^but most of all, I must go and tell my father. I 
think this is part of what he was looking for. I shall 
never again be dissatisfied about Jesus of Nazareth. He 
is not dead, he is risen. It is just as he said to Pilate. 
His kingdom is not of this world. So he said to us in the 
way. He is the Christ, and he has suffered, and he has 
entered into his glory.” 

Amen ! ” said Cleopas. 

"And so they walked on, together, into Jerusalem. 











